There was no reason to stop collecting road tolls – minority condemns government

The minority in parliament sharply criticised the government’s decision to reintroduce road tolls, describing the move as misguided and a sign of poor governance.

The Ministry of Roads and Highways recently announced that it has begun consultations with key stakeholders to finalise the reintroduction of road tolls.

The aim of this measure is to finance the repair of the country’s dilapidated roads.

Speaking to journalists in Accra on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, the Minority Leader in Governs Agbodza condemned the decision, saying it showed a lack of seriousness and proper governance within the current administration.

“That’s quite an interesting attitude from the current Minister of Transport. Wasn’t he actually part of the Cabinet when the decision was made to stop toll collection? And when the Speaker and all of us pointed out that this one-off action was illegal, they told the Speaker he could go to the toll booth and collect the toll himself if he wanted to.”

“This is just evidence of a government that is stubborn, out of touch and does not know what it wants,” Agbodza claimed.

He also accused the government of using the suspension of road tolls as a propaganda tool to force the electric tax on Ghanaians.

“The cabinet decided to suspend the collection of tolls for propaganda reasons to force the e-levy on Ghanaians. We are paying the e-levy today. They want to take more money from us, so they are condemning each other and saying they want to collect tolls.”

“Then the entire government is condemned. You cannot choose who is righteous in the government,” he suggested.

Mr Agbodza reiterated the minority’s consistent stance against the suspension of tolls, saying they were unnecessary and ill-conceived.

“So we wait. We have said time and again that there is no reason to suspend toll collection. This will allow Ghanaians to see which part of the political divide is trustworthy and in line with the politics in this country.

“It is obvious that the NPP’s stance of being honest and fair to Ghanaians has been questioned many times,” he said.