Business News of Saturday, 23 October 2021
Source: www.ghanaweb.live
2021-10-2342% fuel price increase in one year 'is killing us' – STC MD Nana Akomea
Nana Akomea, MD of Intercity STC Coaches Limited
• MD of Intercity STC has outlined challenges his outfit faces
• He is particular about the impact of fuel price hikes over the last year
• Nana Akomea also wants the government to consider reopening borders
Nana Akomea, the Managing Director of Intercity STC Coaches Limited, has revealed
Read full articlethe extent to which fuel price increases are impacting the state-run transport outfit he heads.
According to him, the fuel price hikes which compute to about 42% over the last year has come without the commensurate increase in fares.
That situation coupled with the closure of borders since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, he says, has thrown everything out of gear and made their operations ‘difficult.’
GhanaWeb monitored comments he made on the Friday, October 22, 2021, edition of Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana show.
“It is the fuel that is killing us… from October last year to September this year, just one year; a liter (of fuel) has gone up from 4 cedis, 77 pesewas to 6 cedis, 80 pesewas. That is about a 42% increase in one year, in fuel.
“Fares have gone up 13%, so that immediately throws everything out… so it is difficult. It is difficult,” he told show host Randy Abbey.
Commenting on reports that the Ghana Private Road Transport Union, GPRTU, will increase fares soon, he stated that the process usually involved engaging the transport ministry to arrive at a consensus, adding that delays may arise but eventually there is always a common ground.
He reiterated that Intercity has lost 2.4 million cedis in revenue every month on basis of border closure. Added to the fuel situation and the fact that the company did not lay off any of its 750 workers, they have approached relevant agencies of government on ways that they could be supported in these hard times.
He also tasked the government to strongly consider reopening the borders now that vaccines are becoming increasingly available. He said the opening could be staggered and monitored in order to avoid any fears of virus importation or upsurge in cases.
