Some transport operators in the Bono Regional capital, Sunyani, have kicked against the 40 per cent increment in lorry fares in the country, as proposed by the Concern Drivers Association.
They admitted that though the prices of spare parts and petroleum products, as well as import duties remained high, the proposed 40 percent increment was unjustifiably high.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Sunyani, Mr Bismark Adjin Frimpong, the administrative secretary of the Sunyani branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), said the union was negotiating with the government for a drastic reduction in fuel prices.
“It is, therefore, advisable for us to wait until the negotiations are over before we can decide on the proposed increment”, he said.
“In fact, fuel prices in the country have been going down gradually since December 2021 and this is a sign of progress in our negotiation with the government,” Mr Frimpong stated.
Mr Prince Adu, the station manager for the Airport Premium Transport Limited, said his company was in support of any increment in transport fares but described the proposed 40 percent as exorbitant.
He called on the government to strengthen regulations on the transport sector, and ban all unworthy vehicles from the road to control crashes on the highways.
Mr Michael Anyabas, the Bono Regional Manager of I O AmpofoTransport, expressed discomfort about the deplorable conditions of roads and highways in the country and called on the government to reshape the Sunyani-Kumasi highway.
He bemoaned the uncontrolled constructions of illegal speed ramps in communities along the Sunyani-Kumasi stretch and asked Ghana Highway Authority to do something about it because the speed ramps were partly contributing to road accidents. -GNA
