At a press conference held by the Transport Congress of Ghana, the National Secretary, Madam Georgina Sarpong, voiced the collective frustration of the country’s commercial drivers, conductors, passengers, traders, towing car drivers, and Okada riders.
The conference, titled “Akufo-Addo/Bawumia’s Poor Economic Management is Killing Transport Business,” shed light on the dire challenges faced by the transport sector under the current administration’s economic policies.
Madam Sarpong noted that the transport business, which provides over twenty thousand direct and indirect jobs, has been severely impacted by the government’s mismanagement of the economy. The constant rise in fuel prices, coupled with an unstable exchange rate, has driven transport businesses to the brink of collapse. “The Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration has failed to create jobs, and now they are destroying the few jobs that sustain thousands of livelihoods within the transport sector,” she declared.
“The economic downturn has led to skyrocketing prices for vehicles, spare parts, and fuel. In 2016, a sprinter bus could be cleared from the port for 15,000 Ghana cedis and sold for 35,000 cedis. Today, the same bus costs 80,000 cedis to clear and sells for a staggering 285,000 cedis. Similarly, the price of new tires has surged from 65 cedis in 2016 to 250 cedis. The sharp rise in prices has made it impossible for commercial drivers to meet their daily sales quotas, forcing many to resort to desperate measures such as operating shorter, unauthorized routes, which unfairly increases costs for passengers”.
She said as a result, many transport operators have seen their livelihoods deteriorate. Families are struggling, marriages are falling apart, and children are dropping out of school. “The situation is so dire that some women traders have been forced to sleep at lorry parks, as they can no longer afford the transportation costs to return home each night” .
Madam Sarpong also pointed to the rising cost of living, which has left drivers and conductors barely able to afford basic meals like Konkonte, a staple food. In 2016, a small plate of Konkonte could be bought for a fraction of what it costs today. “Now, the cheapest food at the stations is 8 cedis, and a piece of fish costs 15 cedis,” she lamented.
The Transport Congress is urging the government to urgently cut taxes on petroleum products, spare parts, and reduce the exchange rate, which has placed an unbearable burden on the industry.
“The common man’s vote put this government in power, and it will be the common man’s vote that brings change,” Madam Sarpong concluded, signaling the rising discontent among transport workers and citizens across the country.
Source:dailydemocratnewsonline.com