Minister Of State-Designate At The Ministry Of Finance Says Road Tolls Will Not Return

• Minister of State-designate at the Ministry of Finance says road tolls will not return
• Abena Osei Asare says government's abolishment of the road tolls was a political one and there is no indication the government wants to reverse its decision
• She said this at her vetting before the appointment committee of parliament on Wednesday March 13

The Minister of State-designate at the Ministry of Finance, Abena Osei Asare says government will not reintroduce road tolls.

Speaking at her vetting before the appointment committee of Parliament on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, she said the decision to abolish the road tolls was a political one and so far there is no indication the government wants to reverse it.

She told the committee that the 2024 budget statement read by the former Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta did not contain any mention of the road tolls and thus the tolls will not make a comeback this year.

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“The document that spells out the vision for the government in 2024 is the budget and so we’re working with the budget. And in the budget for 2024, I don't think we introduced any line item for road tolls and so it remains as such,” she said.

Roads and Highways Minister wants road tolls reinstated

Her statement is in sharp contradiction to an earlier statement made by the Roads and Highways Minister-designate, Francis Asenso-Boakye on his plans to bring back the road tolls.

According to Asenso-Boakye, his ministry is in talks with key stakeholders to bring back the road tolls.

He said bringing back the road tolls is a matter of necessity citing the current fiscal challenges the country is saddled with.

He explained that the road tolls are meant to fund the repair of deteriorating roads across the country.

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However, the new road tolls will not be manpowered.

He said the road tolls to be introduced will be digitised and automated to avoid causing a traffic jam at the booth and reduce pollution in the area.

Minister-designate admits National Cathedral project was not handled well

Abena Osei Asare at her vetting also admitted that the government could have done better with regards to the National Cathedral project.

According to her, while the government had committed to providing the seed money for the project, issues that have arisen from the project show that something may have gone wrong somewhere.

“Mr Chairman, I think we could have gone better about it than what we have done,” she said.

Minority calls for return of road tolls

Earlier, YEN.com.gh had reported that the Minority in Parliament had called for the government to return the collection of road tolls.

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Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, said shortly after the finance minister's presentation yesterday that the cancellation of the tolls was denying Ghana critical funds.

The Minority in Parliament also criticised the government for not consulting widely before scrapping the tolls.

Source: YEN.com.gh