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The Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council (GRTCC) has directed transport operators not to increase lorry fares. It said the drivers must stick to the old fares until new fares were issued to them. A statement jointly issued by the GRTCC, and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), explained that there had not been any significant changes in the prices of petroleum products and other inputs to warrant any increase in fares. It said the leadership of the GRTCC would keep on monitoring and effect the appropriate adjustment in fares when necessary. Marathon Meeting The Chairman of the GRTCC, Mr Ben Amoabeng, in an interview with the Daily Graphic said the decision not to increase lorry fares was taken last Thursday after a marathon meeting, reports Caroline Boateng. In a previous interview with the Daily Graphic, Mr Amoabeng had said that increases in fares was not dependent on fuel, however, there was the agreement that if fuel prices were increased above 10 per cent there would be increases in fares. According to him, cumulatively, from the last quarter of last year to date, fuel had gained an increase of about 16 per cent, while diesel had been increased by about 13 per cent. When asked whether the cumulative increases he had mentioned then were not above the agreed threshold of 10 per cent to warrant fare increases, Mr Amoabeng explained that the executive had come to the conclusion that the cumulative increase for diesel was minimal, just three per cent. He said diesel was also used predominantly for the cargo vehicles and most passenger vehicles, thus any increase would mean a minimal increase commensurate with the increase in the diesel price. Challenges Mr Amoabeng explained that if there were to be any increases, it would have been minimal, which was going to create challenges for drivers to get lower denominations as change for commuters. He said the fare increases of 20 per cent in January this year, had taken into consideration the cost of other vehicle components, adding that the prices of the other components were subject to review within the coming months in line with the periodic review of transport fares every six months based on price changes in other vehicle components He said it was envisaged that the NPA would in the coming weeks announce further increases to enable the GRTCC to factor in any adjustment in fares.