Fuel price hike: We'll strike on November 9 – Trotro drivers

Ghana’s commercial transport operators have served notice they will park their vehicles on Tuesday, November 9, 2021, to push for a drastic reduction of the taxes on petroleum products.

A spokesperson for the Committed Drivers Association, Mr. Yaw Barimah, served this notice in an interview with Kwame Appiah Kubi on 'Ghana Yensom' on Accra100.5 FM.

According to him, this was the decision taken by the leadership of transport operators, namely Ghana Private Roads Transport Union, Ghana National Cargo Transport Association, Ghana Committed Drivers Association and Concerned Drivers Association at a meeting on Tuesday.

The leaders present at the said meeting were Alhaji Moro Abass, National Communications Officer for GPRTU; Mohammed Tanko, the National President of Ghana National Cargo Transport Association; Mr. Charles Danso, Chairman of Committed Drivers Association; and Mr. David Agboado, Public Relations Officer of Concerned Drivers Association.

At the said meeting, Mr. Barima said the operators demanded that the government remove all nuisance taxes on petroleum products to reduce the price of the product to ameliorate the plight of drivers, car owners, and passengers.

He was of the view that commercial drivers have been taken for granted for far too long in the country.

“We are going to ground all our vehicles for the IGP, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, to come and arrest us for deciding not to go to work,” he said.

He explained that for some time now, the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) has not been operational yet drivers are paying for the TOR levy.

He contended that the country produces one million barrels of crude oil daily and the country’s daily consumption is eight hundred thousand barrels, “so, why is the government not making the excess crude available to Ghanaians to avoid the importation of finished products?”