Commercial transport operators in the Republic of Ghana, on Monday, embarked on a sit down strike in protest of the high cost of petrol and diesel.

Currently, both petrol and diesel are sold at around GHC6.90 per litre.

This, the drivers say is making them operate at a loss coupled with the high cost of spare parts.

The strike action left thousands of commuters stranded at various bus terminals across the country.

A visit to some of the transport terminals by the energynewsafrica.com team revealed some interesting scenes.

While some drivers played cards, others turned their terminal into a football pitch.

When the energynewsafrica.com team got to the Ashaiman transport terminal, the drivers and their mates were seen playing football in the station.

One driver said: “We voted for this government but look at how they’re treating us. Life has become unbearable. We will play football the whole day.”

Another driver said: “You can see a lot of commuters along the road. Almost everyone is trying to get a vehicle. For the drivers here, they are trying to enforce the strike. When the other drivers with passengers get to the station, they instruct the passengers to alight. The situation at Nii Boye Town is not a very pleasant one. A lot of people are now in a fix.”

Drivers at the Lapaz bus terminal had to also disembark passengers in commercial vehicles in a bid to enforce their sit-down strike.

In the Northern Region, commuters travelling to Tamale or Yendi were stranded at the station due to the strike.

Fuel prices in 2021 started at about GH¢5 per litre and are now threatening to cross the GH¢7 mark.

There are seven taxes on petroleum products which amount to GH¢1.9 on each litre of fuel purchased.

Energynewsafricam.com understands that the leadership of the transport unions have been called to the Presidency for a meeting in the afternoon.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com