Let’s re-introduce road tolls, there’s no money

Vice President and NPP Presidential Candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has called for the re-introduction of road tolls. He said there is a need for it to be re-introduced so that the private sector can contribute to the development of road infrastructure.

“Let us go back to a system of broad-based road tolls. The tolling system has to come back. And I think it will come back,” Bawumia told the clergy in the Volta Region.

He admitted that scrapping the toll was a mistake by the government which pushed all road projects to the government budget. Bawumia said the government does not have enough money so getting support from the private sector through road tolls is a big alternative.

“It is a fundamental mistake of the Government to place all road projects on the budget. The government doesn’t have enough money and the private sector has to be brought in.”

Why road tolls were scrapped

In 2021 during the reading of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta announced that the government was abolishing road tolls.

“Government has abolished all tolls on public roads and bridges. This takes effect immediately the Budget is approved,” he told Parliament.

According to him, “…the tolling points have become unhealthy market centres, led to heavy traffic on our roads, lengthened travel time from one place to another, and impacted negatively on productivity.

“The congestion generated at the tolling points, besides creating these inconveniences, also leads to pollution in and around those vicinities,” the then Finance Minister stated.

Many stakeholders’ reactions were negative, with many calling the decision irrational. While many admitted the reasons may be valid, they argued that the government could look to technology to reduce the time spent at the toll booths.