The Managing Director of the State Transport Corporation (STC), Nana Akomea, says a more comprehensive and round table discussion should be made before transport fare hikes or reductions.
This comes on the back of the confusion and unrest surrounding transport pricing which has sparked confusion among passengers and transport operators.
Mr. Akomea made this statement on Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV on Friday, 19th May 2023.
He indicated that although fuel prices have seen a reduction at the pumps and as such become the desire of many to have it reflected in the fares, the request cannot be met despite a statement released by the transport operators.
He noted that a lot goes into pricing as the work of transport operators depends on a lot of factors.
“It is not just fuel that goes into transport. Spare parts are keen, at STC, we buy oil, we have a whole warehouse for oil.”
He reckons also that the government in its bid to alleviate the burden on the ordinary Ghanaian may commit itself due to no broader consultation among stakeholders.
“What are the criteria and what is the level of consultation? You can do a good thing in a wrong way and it will cost problems,” he opined.
Nana Akomea, however, called for a benchmark value to engender the right movement of pricing whenever petroleum products experience a change while, adding the need for the Ministry of Transport to breathe on the issue and bring finality to it.
Transport operators in a statement on Monday announced a 10% reduction of transport fares to be effected on Wednesday, 17th May 2023.
“In line with the administrative arrangement on public transport fares, the road transport operators have reduced public transport fares by 10 percent to accommodate for the reduction in the price of petroleum products observed over the period”, the operators announced.
Meanwhile, Transport operators nationwide are yet to comply with the directive issued by the road transport association, calling for a 10 percent reduction in fares
By Leonora Enyonam Annoh | Metrotvonline.com | Ghana
