I don’t understand why road tolls were removed, says Kwabena Agyepong
A candidate for flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwabena Agyei Agyepong, has berated the Roads Minister for removing the payment of road tolls in the country.
Agyepong said he could not comprehend the decision by the Roads Minister to remove road tolls.
He said if the toll booths in Ghana were causing traffic on the road there were many innovative ways of dealing with that other than removing tolls.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Thursday (30 March), Agyepong said, “I don’t understand why the Road Minister decided to remove the tolls. If it was causing traffic we have so many ways of managing that.
“There are ways of doing that; now a lot of it is computerised and you can also have stickers that you’ll flash through it and get billed at the end of the month. There are so many innovative ways of managing toll booths,” he said.
“Road tolling: even in the most affluent of societies [they pay] … I think the GHC1 amount was too low to start with, and then to take it off completely – I don’t understand why,” Agyepong said.
“Reintroducing tolls”
Meanwhile, the government has proposed a revision of rates ahead of the reintroduction of road tolls across the country.
The move, if accepted, is expected to result in an increase in tolls.
Under the revised arrangements, motorbikes are expected to now pay 50p, while saloon cars will pay GHC1, heavy buses GHC2 and heavy goods trucks GHC3.
Light buses will now pay GHC1.50; agricultural tractors and trailers will pay GHC1.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Finance said, “We are by this letter sending the recommended rates for input by the Ministry of Roads and Highways to enable this Ministry to finalise the schedule of fees under the upcoming Legislative Instrument.
“Accordingly, this Ministry has initiated steps to provide for foundational rates for tolling of roads and highways as part of the amendments of the act, pending completion of the process to identify the roads and highways to be affected by the reintroduction of the road tolls as stated in the Budget,” the statement said.
