Scores of commuters were left stranded as the Coalition of Commercial Transport Owners today, 6th December 2021 embarked on a strike to protest taxes on fuel.
The strike forms part of measures to compel the government to scrap some taxes on fuel to enable reduction at the pumps.
The coalition of private transport operators consists of Ghana Private Road and Transport Union (GPRTU), Association of Tipper Truck Drivers, Harbor Transport Owners, Ghana National Cargo Transport Association, Ghana Committed Drivers Association, Concerned Drivers Association, Digital Drivers, Commercial motorbike riders, popularly referred to as Okada, the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers among others.
According to the Coalition, the government for the past two weeks has failed to heed to their calls for some taxes to be scrapped off hence the decision to embark on the sit-down strike.
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The group wants government to scrap taxes like the Price Stabilization and Recovery Levy, Special Petroleum Tax, the Energy Recovery Debt Levy and the Sanitation levy.
The group says the strike will continue until government is ready to engage the group for a lasting solution moving forward.
Speaking to the issue on Atinka FM’s AM Drive with host Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Executive secretary for the port transport union and a communications team member for the concerned Drivers Association of Ghana, Ibrahim Musah, explained that the transport sector has a structural and systemic challenge that can be fixed with a mere adjustment of fares.
“ Let us be fair and sincere in our communication with each other. We have a problem and we do not want to push the burden on the passengers. Let us look for a more pragmatic and sincere solutions to the problem,” Ibrahim Musah told Kaakyire Ofori Ayim.
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