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In 2024, road tolls most likely will be reinstated.
The revelation was made earlier today in Parliament during the discussion of the 2024 budget statement and economic policy, by Kwasi Amoako-Attah, the Minister of Roads and Highways.
In 2021, the government discontinued road toll collection after enacting the e-levy, which fell short of expectations.
Additionally, the ministry states that a national conversation about funding road construction is necessary.
Minority Chief Whip Kwame Agbodza responded to the minister’s remarks by saying that it was encouraging that the minister had called for a national conversation on road funding and that tolls would be reinstated.
“I think the minister has done the right thing. I will maintain that the suspension was in a haste. By the time we suspended it we were getting 78 million. Mr. Speaker 78 million can pay SMCs, small medium contractors who were weeding the roadside because today we can’t pay them. So I welcome the bold decision by the minister to reintroduce the debate on road tolls as well.
“The minister is proposing for a national dialogue on road financing. Mr. Speaker I think that is the appropriate thing to do. Let us all have a conversation on how we fund our roads. We can never have enough loans from World Bank or free money from anywhere, so let’s have a debate on how we fund our roads internally,” he said.
Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the Deputy Majority Leader, claims that the decision to reintroduce road tolls is a positive step.
Nonetheless, he emphasized that in order to prevent losses for the state, the tolls should be reintroduced in a digitalized format.
“Mr. Speaker, at the time we were receiving almost about, just a little over 70 million. That over 70% of tolls collected ended up in wrong hands. I hold the view that this reintroduction of the road tolls… should come with a digitalised solution to sustain it so that the human interface will be minimized if not to be eradicated,” he said.
₵4.6 billion has been approved by Parliament for the ministry’s services in the upcoming year.
Source: Ghanatodayonline.com
