The Traders Advocacy Group Ghana (TAGG) has called on the government to reduce import duties on commercial vehicles by 50% to increase the number of vehicles on the roads and help bring down transport fares.

According to the Vice President of TAGG, Samuel Asare Addo, increasing the number of commercial vehicles would create competition in the transport sector and prevent trotro drivers from charging what he described as exorbitant fares.

He said the current shortage of commercial vehicles was contributing to the difficulties commuters face, particularly during peak hours.

“When it is 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., please, kindly come to Tema Station. Come here and witness it yourself. It is bizarre,” he said.

The Vice President argued that the government could open a window for businesses to import commercial vehicles at a reduced duty rate, which he believes would help increase the number of vehicles available to commuters.

“Yes, because the vehicles are not enough. How about opening a window of a 50% import duty to businesspeople like you? Maybe some of you might have the strength to import vehicles, right?” he asked.

He explained that increasing the number of commercial vehicles would introduce competition and make it difficult for drivers to overcharge passengers.

“So that we will have more vehicles in the system. That is when a trotro driver cannot overcharge, because if the trotros are more and the commercial vehicles are more, why would he overcharge?” he said.

“Because if you do not pick me, another one is picking me. That is how we break the monopoly.”

Petition to government

The TAGG Vice President said the group had already petitioned the government over the issue, with the Presidency responding and forwarding the petition to the Ministry of Transport for recommendations.

“And we gave a petition. We wrote a petition to the government. The Presidency answered the petition and forwarded it to the Ministry of Transport for recommendations as immediately as they could,” he said.

However, he said the group was disappointed that its proposal did not appear in the national budget despite looking out for it.

“We actually looked out for it in the budget. It did not happen. We looked for it again; it did not happen,” he said.

According to him, the failure to address the issue suggests that the concerns of ordinary Ghanaians are not receiving the attention they deserve.

“So it means that the people of Ghana, their cries, they have not heard them,” he said.

He urged government and the public to focus on issues affecting the daily lives of Ghanaians rather than political arguments and social media exchanges.

“We should talk about bread-and-butter issues in the country, not social media insults. That is of no useful concern to anybody, but the things that are worrying people,” he said.

The Vice President also expressed concern about what he described as growing anxiety among Ghanaians, saying government must address the issues affecting people if it wants to meet the expectations of President John Mahama.

“I tell you, when I saw that gentleman on the flatbed, eh, I couldn’t sleep because I didn’t know where he was going,” he said, referring to an incident that had caused him concern.

“You could see he was in Friday wear. You could see that he could be a civil servant or a public servant.”

He said the situation reflected the level of anxiety among some Ghanaians and called for urgent measures to address their concerns.

“People are feeling so much anxiety in the country now. We should ensure that we address these anxieties so that the expectations of His Excellency the President can be met. That is all we are looking for,” he said.

He further cautioned against reducing the group's advocacy to political divisions.

“If you are out there and you tag us as A or B, that means you lack simple common sense,” he said.

“Think about Ghanaians. Think about Ghanaians.”

The TAGG Vice President maintained that the group’s concerns were focused on issues affecting traders, transport users and the wider Ghanaian public, rather than political interests.