COPEC criticized the Ministry of Transport for instructing the Ghana Police Service on enforcing new fare regulations.
On Monday, April 15, the Ministry directed the police to monitor commercial drivers charging fares above approved rates.
Duncan Amoah, Executive Secretary of COPEC, argues that the Ministry lacks the authority to enforce compliance from the unions, as it has not addressed the root causes of the purported fare increases.
“The Transport Ministry has no basis in law to determine transport fares, especially in a deregulated market like we have, where the cost of fare is passed on and not regulated by government. The cost of insurance is simply added on year in, and year out. The cost of fuel goes up at will. As and when the dollar goes up, as and when international markets go up, as and when taxes go up, your fuel prices are rising.”
“Why is the Transport Ministry in all of these discussions? And so we think that the Transport Ministry should not arrogate onto itself constitutional powers that it does not have at present to even call for the arrest of a driver or drivers simply because they are trying to recover costs of their operation. I am not suggesting the drivers should just go ahead and charge too much, but if there is a need for them to go up in transport fare, so be it.”