Alhaji Sumaila Boakye is the Ashanti Regional Chairman of GPRTU
The Ashanti Regional Branch of Ghana’s leading private sector transport operator, the Ghana Private Roads Transport Union (GPRTU), has rated very favourably the NDC government in its management of the country within its first year since assuming office.
The government, headed by President John Dramani Mahama, after winning by a historic vote margin in Ghana’s 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections, assumed governance of the nation exactly a year ago.
Then-candidate Mahama went into the presidential polls on the back of a myriad of campaign promises, assuring the people of a better alternative grounded in experience and superior policies, which won the trust and confidence of the voters.
To mark the government’s first anniversary in office, our Ashanti Regional Correspondent, Nicholas Osei-Wusu, sampled some key stakeholders’ views to gauge their assessment of how the country has been run during the 12-month period and also find out what could have been done better, as well as their expectations in the ensuing years.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the GPRTU, Alhaji Sumaila Boakye, recounted meetings held between the transport operators and the then NDC flagbearer at the instance of the latter during the electioneering period. According to him, the NDC espoused its policies and programmes for the transport sector if it won the election, while the transporters also made requests towards improving the cost of running transport businesses in the country.
According to the Regional Chairman of the GPRTU, relative to the campaign promises by then-candidate Mahama and the delivery of his government so far, the performance has been very good, especially in the critical areas of fuel prices and the cost of spare parts.
“When we met in Accra, we made him aware that prices of fuel, which constitute a major cost component of the transport business, needed to reduce or stabilise. At the time, prices at the pump were not only very high but kept increasing by the day.”
“The cedi-dollar rate was also very high and accounted for the high prices of vehicle spare parts on the market,” Alhaji Boakye, who doubles as the Kumasi Branch Chairman of the GPRTU, recounted.
Juxtaposing these with the current economic realities, Alhaji Boakye noted, “After one year, we’re all aware that prices of fuel have reduced significantly, easing the cost of running the transport business. We also responded positively by reviewing our fares downward. The high cost of spare parts has also seen a downward trend. For example, the price of a 12.00 tyre, which was GH¢3,500 in 2024, is now bought at GH¢2,500. As we speak, the price of engine oil has also come down. So we can say the government has performed very well.”
The GPRTU Regional Chairman, however, urged the government to give serious attention to road construction to ensure that there are better roads for transport operators to ply.
“Government should stop the illegal construction of speed ramps along highways. Some of these road infrastructure damage our vehicles to an extent that they cause fire outbreaks,” he pointed out.
Alhaji Boakye made specific reference to Jamasi in the Sekyere South District in the Ashanti Region along the Kumasi–Ejura Highway, where he said the eight speed ramps are not only too many but their heights are unreasonable for road safety, and therefore called for steps to correct the problem.
Asafo Market in the regional capital, Kumasi, is a known hub for cold store businesses, which rely heavily on power supply for sustainability. One of them is Agya Cold Store. The operator, who gave her name only as Aunty Ama, said she and other cold store owners were apprehensive about a possible return of the unstable electricity supply situation, commonly known as ‘dumsor’, if the NDC won the election. However, she said the government has done very well so far in ensuring sustained power supply stability.
“If the light is not stable, our stock, which includes frozen meat and fish products, spoils, leading to huge losses. But in the last one year, the power supply has been fairly reliable,” she said.
Aunty Ama urged the government to do more to ensure them of constant electricity to guarantee their business.
A cross-section of the public sampled also spoke highly of the government’s performance within the one-year period and hoped that it would continue to deliver.
