Transport fares unlikely to go down

Transport fares are unlikely to go down despite a 20 per cent reduction in fuel prices, Mr Mathew Hayford, Chairman of the Road Coordination Council, has said.

“We are yet to meet over the matter, but it is unlikely we will see any downward review of transport fares,” he told the Ghana News Agency on Monday in Accra.

Mr Hayford explained that much more went into the fixing of transport fares and not fuel cost alone.

He said since the increment in fuel prices, the prices of spare parts had also increased, which could not be reduced.

Meanwhile Mr Steven Larbi, Public Relations Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has said management was yet to meet Government on the implementation of the 20 per cent reduction in petroleum prices.

He told the Ghana News Agency in Accra that management was working around the clock and would meet various stakeholders to calculate the percentage to reflect the amount.

He said government was ready to pay subsidy on the imported petroleum products already in the market.

The recent reduction came about when the President directed the Vice-President to engage the Trades Union Congress (TUC) on the possibility of implementing the reduction, taking into cognisance the need for a commensurate reduction in transport fares in order to be of benefit to the ordinary citizen.

A communiqué issued in Accra at the weekend, jointly signed by Mr Enoch Teye Mensah, out-going Minister of Employment and Social Welfare and Mr Kofi Asamoah, Secretary-General of the TUC, said “it was agreed to proceed with implementation of the President’s concession of a 20 per cent reduction in the recent increase of petroleum prices”.

The communiqué said in pursuance of that the Vice President held a meeting with the transport union operators on the need to reduce transport fares in the face of a reduction in the petroleum prices.

“The TUC agreed to engage the transport unions to achieve some reduction in transport fares in order to benefit the ordinary citizen,” the communiqué added.

Source: GNA