A couple of groups that expressed willingness to partake in tomorrow’s mass demonstration against hardship in the country has opted out.
True Drivers Association, Concerned Drivers Union, Vehicle Asset Dealers Association and COPEC are some of the groups that have made a u-turn to opt out from the mass street protest dubbed ‘Kumi Preko’.
According to Kweku Boateng, spokesperson for the Vehicle Asset Dealers Association, revered chiefs in Ghana had whispered to the groups that government had agreed to scrap the luxury vehicle tax on July 17, 2019, when Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta is hosted by Parliament to review the country’s mid-year budget.
He said the leadership of the angry groups called on the said revered chiefs to caution the government to rescind on withdrawing the luxury vehicle tax, which was having a toll on their business, or they exited it [government] in the 2020 polls.
“We were, therefore, scheduled to join tomorrow’s [Tuesday] Kumi Preko demonstration but the chiefs we confided in, called us to deliver the good news to us that the government says in its mid-year budget review, our worry would be scrapped. We cannot disobey our chiefs and so, we have called off our demonstration,” Kweku Boateng explained.
However, Paa Willie, who is a spokesperson for Concerned Drivers Union, sharply rubbished the utterances by Kweku Boateng, saying:
“Vehicle Asset Dealers Association is a minute member of the entire group and so if his membership is okay and believe what it has been told, we won’t begrudge them. It’s their stance.”
Nonetheless, he said his membership would strongly partake in tomorrow’s mass protest against fuel price hikes, high cost of spare parts and luxury vehicle tax, which, he described, have badly affected their operations.
He said the government of President Akufo-Addo has disappointed them and failed in its promises to them, prior to the 2016 general elections.
“I call on drivers who can feel the pinch of the economic hardship in their operations to join tomorrow’s demonstration to force the government to put things right to alleviate the economic hardship in the country,” he said to rally support for tomorrow’s demonstration, which starts at the Obra Spot, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, in Accra.
Story by Umar Sheriff / awakenewsonline.com
