The Roads Committee of Parliament has expressed its intention to vote against the reintroduction of road tolls.
The Select Committee in Parliament has set several conditions before it will approve the government’s plan to reinstate road charges.
In a letter to the Roads Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, on March 10, 2023, the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, has gone back to Parliament with a new plan to bring back the tax, but this time he wants to raise the rate. The Minister of Finance has brought new fees to Parliament so that they can be approved. According to a memo sighted by Tru News Report, the plan is for all prices to go up by an average of 88.05 percent.
At the budget presentation in November 2021, the Finance Minister declared the elimination of road toll collecting, subject to parliamentary approval. The minister has changed his mind after barely two years.
The Committee on Road and Transport Chairman, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, told Starr News that he will not approve any price below 5 cedis. According to him, the reintroduction of tolls must generate enough money to settle debts in the sector, especially the payment of contractors for work already completed.
He also thinks that the best way to prevent corruption is to have the tolls collected automatically, without human involvement. Committee Ranking Member and Minority Chief Whip Kwame Governs Agbodza has criticised the government for temporarily eliminating road tolls. Unlike the current system, in which all income generated by the sector is capped and used for other purposes, he claims that his side will only approve the return if all earnings go into the sector.
Source – Tru News Report
