NDC will Reintroduce Road Tolls in 'Technological and Fair Manner - Kwame Agbodza

Accra, Ghana - 20 Jan, 2025 - Ghana's Roads and Highways Minister-nominee, Kwame Agbodza, has sparked controversy over the government's handling of road toll funds, revealing that some contractors are owed as little as ¢5,000.

During his vetting by the Appointments Committee, Agbodza expressed surprise at the Akufo-Addo administration's decision to cancel road tolls, calling it an "act of illegality".

Agbodza argued that instead of scrapping the tolls, the government should have worked to improve the system, addressing leakages and enhancing its effectiveness. He also suggested that the cancellation was handled negligently, particularly given the government's claim that the road toll generated only ¢80 million.

In a significant move, Agbodza announced that road tolls would be reintroduced in a modernised form, utilising technology to ensure fairer and more efficient collection.

According to him, this new system would eliminate physical road obstructions and manual toll collection, providing a smoother experience for drivers.

"We decided to caution the government not to cancel the road toll but rather find a way to make it better. This means that we should find a way to block the leakages and enhance it. So it was surprising that it was cancelled or they claimed they zeroed it. For me, it was an act of illegality. They couldn’t unilaterally do that. I believe there was some level of negligence in the way it was done,'' he stated.

"They claimed road toll was accruing just ¢80 million, but today there are road contractors working in Ghana who are owed GH¢5,000. So the road toll is coming back but not in the form of building obstructions on the road for drivers to stop and somebody taking money from them but this coming in a form of technological and fair manner that will make it easy to collect," he added.

Source: Lead News Online