Transport fares reduced for the first time in history: Minister’s claim false

On Saturday, May 20, 2023, the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, stated on Newsfile, a current affairs programme on Joy News, that transport operators had reduced transport fares for the first time in Ghana’s history.

He explained that the decrease was a result of the reduction in fuel prices.

Fact-Check Ghana has verified the claim and presents the verdict below.

Claim: “For the first time in the history of our country, transport fares have been reduced by transport operators. This is because fuel prices are reflecting inflation, they are reflecting exchange rates, they are reflecting what the deregulator regime has defined for us to follow.”

Verdict: False

Explanation: The most recent transport fare reduction was on May 17, 2023, with a 10% decrease. However, as of May 23, 2023, the new fares have not been implemented due to concerns raised by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU). They argue that other factors, such as the rise in prices of spare parts, have not been taken into consideration while fixing the new fares.

In the last seven years of the Akufo-Administration fuel prices have been reduced twice. In December 2022, there was a 15.3% reduction as a result of a decline in fuel prices at the time. In July 2020, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) decreased transport fares by 10%.

However, before the Akufo-Addo administration took office in 2017, there was a reduction in fares in 2015.

In January 2015, transport fares went down by 5% after a decline in fuel prices at the pump.

From the above, it is clear that the minister’s claim is false since the recent reduction is not the first time transport fares have gone down in the history of Ghana.

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