By Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
Executives of the Transport Operators of Ghana have taken a swipe at the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) 2024 flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia over his pledge to extend the renewal of driver’s licences from two years to 10 years.
The group in a statement on Tuesday, August 13, 2024 described the 2024 NPP presidential candidate’s pledge as “another bait to just win the votes of drivers because he has in times past exhibited glaring lack of concern.”
The transport operators in their statement admonished Dr. Bawumia to focus on removing the taxes his government placed on petroleum products and other challenging issues, including “reducing the acquisition cost of a driving license, roadworthy certificate and vehicle registration as well as honouring his 2020 pledge before gaslighting us with any new pledge.”
Existing legislation directs that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) is mandated to ensure that all driver’s license holders must renew or validate their licenses every two (2) years from the date of issue of the license.
However, the 2024 NPP flagbearer believes that the current legislation is an inconvenience for drivers and must be extended to bring relief.
Below is the full statement.
Transport Operators of Ghana
13TH August, 2024
Press Statement for Immediate Release
Bawumia Cannot Be Trusted Over the Ten Year Renewal of Driver’s License
We have become aware of Vice President Mahamadu Bawumia’s promise to implement a policy that will allow for drivers license to be renewed only after ten years.
While we welcome the suggestion as a brilliant idea we have genuine cause to not just believe but to also state unequivocally that it is another bait to just win the votes of drivers because he has in times past exhibited a glaring lack of concern for the plight of drivers.
It is of public knowledge that drivers in the country, particularly, commercial drivers are in deep shackles of suffering as a result of policies instituted by the NPP and by the same Bawumia’s led Economic Management Team.
It is Bawumia’s government that introduced the Sanitation and Pollution Levy(SPL) on petroleum products and several other taxes that are contributing to the continuous increment in fuel prices.
Under the same Akufo Addo/Bawumia government, the cost of acquiring, renewing and replacing of driver’s licenses and road-worthy certificates have been increased astronomically.
It is also publicly known that prior to the 2020 elections, the same Bawumia pledged electric vehicles that would have been purchased under hire for drivers but his government’s tenure is almost ending and not even a single electric vehicle has been procured for any driver.
Even recently, Dr Bawumia at the GPRTU executives’ elections which was held in Kasoa pledged to have the situation where vehicle owners pay penalties for road-worthy certificate renewal for vehicles that went to the workshop dealt with swiftly. However, he appears to have completely forgotten the July 5 pledge.
The deception is stark and makes it obvious that he is only acting in a cunning manner to win the votes of drivers.
But just as the adage goes, ‘once bitten twice shy’ and so we wish to call on Bawumia to exercise his commitment by removing the taxes his government placed on petroleum products, reducing the acquisition cost of driving license, roadworthy certificates and vehicle registration as well as honouring his 2020 pledge before gaslighting us with any new pledge.
We call on divers to be more vigilant about these promises being churned out by the vice president who is now leading the NPP into the 2020 elections and not to be swayed by same.
