Accra, Oct. 19, GNA-The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) says it will have no option but to increase transport fares should Government fail to scrap taxes and levies on fuel products in a week.
Mr Abbas Ibrahim Morro, National Communications Officer, GPRTU, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said, “We urge government to scrap the Special Petroleum tax (46 pesewas/litre), Price Stabilisation and Recovery Levy(16 pesewas/litre), BOST Margin(9 pesewas/litre) and Sanitation and Pollution Levey (10 pesewas/litre).
“We believe that the removal of these taxes will reduce the prices of diesel and petrol by GHC 1.20/liter.”
He said the Union would have no other alternative than to adjust transport fares upwards if the taxes and levies were not scraped.
He said the increments had reduced their real income as they needed to add more of their income to buy the same litres of products they used to buy earlier in the year.
Mr Morro said aside the effects of the increment in petroleum prices on their daily sales, there had also been about 10 per cent surge in the prices of spare parts they buy to maintain their vehicles.
“Currently prices of items we used to run our transport operations such as lubricants, spare parts, among others, have been increased to about 10 per cent, and, if they do not do anything about it we cannot survive,” he stated.
Mr Morro urged their Divers and the public to wait patiently for the GPRTU on its engagement with government, while observing the traffic and vehicular regulations to protect themselves and their passengers.
Mr Wisdom Zingah, a driver at Mamprobi Station, called on government to subsidise the price of fuel, saying, the new increases were becoming unbearable for them.
He said the situation was becoming dire for them as they spent major part of their daily sales on fuel. “We wish government can do something about the increment because it is becoming unbearable. We spend virtually all our sales on fuel,” he stressed.
Mr Daniel Asamoah, a driver at Tema Station, said government should stabilize fuel increment in the country as the continuous increment of fuel was adversely affecting transport operators.
“We want government to stabilize the irregular increase of fuel. There should be a regulated period of increase and not just increasing it frequently,” he said.
Mr Daniel Laryea, Chairman, Mamprobi GPRTU station, appealed to government to also look at the cost of drivers’ license and vehicle insurance.
He said the cost of the insurance and license was also another factor that affect their work as there were hefty sums of money needed to renew those services.
Fuel prices have been on the increase in the last few weeks which had led to complaints about hardships from transport operators.
The National Petroleum Authority last week announced the removal of the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levies (PRSL) on petrol, diesel, and LPG for two months.
The levy is yet to take effect even as the second pricing window commenced, this is because Parliament is yet to give the NPA the approval needed to scrap the levy as it is on recess.
A litre of petrol and diesel is now selling at GH¢6.80 at the various filling stations.
