Commercial drivers who have disregarded a directive to lower truck fares risk punishment, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has warned.
Most commercial drivers in the Ashanti Region have not followed the union’s order to lower transportation costs by 15% as of Saturday, May 24, 2025. Only a small percentage of drivers had applied the reduction, and the majority were still charging the previous fares when Citi News visited different transportation terminals.
In an effort to lessen the financial burden on commuters, the GPRTU announced the fare reduction in response to a recent decline in fuel prices and the strengthening of the cedi relative to the dollar.
“We are waiting for the new fares from our leadership before we can reduce them; until then, we are going by the old fares,” stated commercial driver Solomon Frimpong in an interview with Citinews.
“We have lowered our fares, but we are not happy with the new fares because they’re not helping us,” said John Mensah, another commercial driver, in an attempt to voice his displeasure. Drivers will be impacted by this reduction because spare part prices remain unchanged.
Drivers who disregard the directive risk penalties, including being prohibited from loading passengers, the GPRTU has warned.
Significant economic benefits have resulted from the Ghanaian cedi’s recent appreciation, which saw it gain about 24.1% against the US dollar in the first five months of 2025. As a result of this strong performance, the cost of imported goods decreased, causing annual consumer inflation to drop from 22.4% in March to 21.2% in April. Additionally, the stronger cedi has eased fiscal pressures by lowering the cost of servicing external debt in local currency.
Ghana’s foreign reserves, which were valued at $10.6 billion at the end of April 2025, have also increased as a result of the appreciation, strengthening the nation’s external resilience. Together, these changes have raised investor confidence and are anticipated to encourage more lending to the real sector, which will boost economic expansion.