Passengers in Wa, who boarded vehicles to their destinations on Tuesday, complained bitterly about a twenty (20) per cent in lorry fares by the Upper West Regional branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU.
The passengers, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said they did not understand why the GPRTU should increased the fares without any announcement of a sort from the national level. The passengers, who appeared disappointed, said they felt they were being cheated by personnel of the GPRTU in the Region.
Mr Nuhu Mahama, the Regional Industrial Relations Officer of the Union, confirmed the 20 per cent increment but said the increase was in response to the 30 per cent increase in fuel prices by the Government. “This is provisional; we are still waiting for the national directive to act accordingly”, he said. The Industrial Relations Officer said the increment was only to cover the cost of fuel and did not take into account other expenses such as spare parts and lubricants among others.
He stressed that fuel was not the only component of the operational cost of a vehicle. Mr Mahama said Wa-Kumasi, which used to be GH¢12.00, is now GH¢14.00. This according to his calculations was 18 per cent which was even below the 20 percent directive they gave. He said it was the right of the passengers to complain but noted that once there was nothing fishy about what they did he was not perturbed.