Another Hike, Another Burden, and Government’s Silence

The Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has never been shy about passing the cost of fuel onto the commuting public. This week, its deputy public relations officer, Samuel Amoah, warned that transport fares could rise by 25% to 30% following yet another expected increase in petrol and diesel prices.

The Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC) has already signalled that petrol will go up by 4.24% and diesel by a sharper 10.23% from today, Wednesday, September 16. For a country where the daily wage of many workers is already stretched thin, this is not just news. It is a threat to household budgets.

Let us be clear: GPRTU is not the enemy here. Its members buy fuel, spare parts, and insurance in a economy where the cedi’s value seems to erode by the week. If the cost of running a trotro rises, something has to give. But the union’s proposed 25–30% increase is not a modest adjustment. It is a blunt instrument that will hit the poorest Ghanaians hardest. A trader in Makola who spends GHS 10 a day on transport will suddenly find herself paying GHS 13. That difference is a meal. For a student, it is a textbook. For a nurse, it is the difference between getting to work and staying home.

What is missing from this familiar dance is any sign of serious government intervention. Successive governments have spent years telling Ghanaians that fuel price hikes are global phenomena, as if Ghana is the only country on earth that imports petroleum products. Yet our neighbours in Togo and Côte d’Ivoire have managed to stabilise pump prices through deliberate subsidy and tax policies. Why can we not do the same? Why does every fuel price movement become an automatic sentence on the commuting public?

Fuel alone does not determine transport fares. Exchange rates, spare parts, and insurance all matter.
The government cannot continue to hide behind the Ghana Private Road Transport Union. If it is serious about protecting Ghanaians from this latest assault on their pockets, it must act now. That means cutting taxes on petroleum products, even temporarily. It means engaging GPRTU not with vague promises but with concrete support, perhaps a stabilisation fund for transport operators. And it means admitting that the era of “the global market made us do it” is over.

Ghanaians are tired. They are tired of being told to “prepare themselves” for higher fares while their wages remain frozen. They are tired of watching government officials drive fuel-guzzling SUVs while ordinary people queue for hours for a gallon of petrol. And they are tired of editorials that soften the blow with platitudes.

The New Publisher has a simple message for the government: stop hiding. Stop pretending that you have no tools to ease this burden. You have the power to reduce taxes, to regulate prices, and to protect the vulnerable. If you will not use it, then do not be surprised when the people conclude that you simply do not care. The GPRTU’s 30% is not the problem. The problem is a government that has run out of ideas and compassion.