Reduce the fuel prices or we will increase fares – Drivers to government

Some commercial drivers at Madina in the Ga East Municipality of Greater Accra region have urged government to address their grievances by reducing fuel prices or allow them to increase transport fares.

According to them, the increase in the fuel prices is making them go home without their expected daily sales. They claim the situation is also making them find it very difficult to survive, especially those that drive to farther distances, so the government should reduce the prices or allow them also to increase transport fares in order to balance the equation.

The drivers’ demands come as a backing to the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, Ghana (COPEC), Industrial and Commercial workers Union (ICU) and some drivers who marched through some streets of Accra on Wednesday morning to register their displeasure about what they described as “persistent increase in prices of petroleum products in the country”.

Chambers of Petroleum Consumers, Ghana in a statement, had revealed that there has been 4 percent increase in fuel prices at dome pumps.

“Fuel price that used to trade GH¢4.499/litre for both petrol and diesel have seen an increase to GH¢4.670 a difference about 18p or some 4.008% increase” despite National Petroleum Authority’s (NPA) assurance that prices would remain fairly stable for the months of January.

Meanwhile, a statement released by NPA earlier before the demonstration says, prices rise is just between 0.66 percent and 1.08 percent. It described the protest as “being in bad faith and misleading to the public”