Yaw Barimah, a member of the Coalition of Drivers Union, has indicated that the sit down strike by commercial drivers has exposed the lack of concern by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The coalition prior to the strike signalled severally their willingness to embark on an indefinite action should their calls for the reduction of taxes be ignored by the government.
Indeed, after few meetings and minimal engagements with the government, the sector minister remained staunched on the decision to introduce new taxes on fuel prices.
The decision which paved the way for the anticipated outburst from commercial drivers in the long run left the common Ghanaian suffering the consequences.
During an interview with Don Kwabena Prah on Happy98.9 FM’s Epa Hoa Daben political show, Yaw Barimah mentioned, the coalition knowing it would be difficult to fight the government individually decided to fight the government’s decision as a group. He bemoaned, “Most often when challenging the government, they tend to destroy your effort by breaking your frontline which we knew very well. Sometimes after meetings with the government, while waiting for positive feedback, then these social media ‘land guards’ will start their agenda by suggesting our leaders have been bribed. So we decided to keep mute about our decision to embark on the strike to indicate whether we were bribed or not. Our brothers who are commercial drivers should not be blamed in any way, because we decided not to announce it. We decided to lockdown key regions in the country just like the President did during the Covid lockdowns. These regions included Takoradi, Kasoa, Accra, and Volta Region. However, our friends in the Northern region also decided to join the schedule.”
He again suggested that some NPP party loyalists begun attempts to disenfranchise the coalition’s directorate, but failed as he insisted the ‘heat’ this time was felt across every part of the country.
Despite, the commencement of the indefinite strike, Mr Barimah also stated that it was unpleasant to see Ghanaians go through the ordeal, but maintained the strike was the only way to communicate to the government since all other means fell short.
“It was very painful to see to yourself the events of the day and to see Ghanaians stranded. It was also shocking that the government could ignore all signs for this to finally happen. However, we wanted to show that we make the country and have vested the power to our leaders. We wanted to prove our power and what we as a coalition are capable of doing,” he added.
By: Jude Tackie
