Minister for Roads and Highways, Francis Asenso-Boakye, has made a strong case for the reintroduction of road tolls in Ghana.
According to him, the reintroduction will help to mobilise adequate revenue to bridge infrastructural deficit as most developed countries finance their roads using money from tolls.
He made the call while addressing journalists during an assessment tour of the Accra-Kumasi Highway.
“Before we take action, maintenance also needs money. Many countries use the tolls they collect, the monies from road tolls to finance maintenance. But in our case, we have suspended it. I think it’s a good time for us to have a discussion. We need to bring back these road tolls so that we can get money to maintain our roads.
“That’s very important. So, other ministries, we have started the process by engaging the various stakeholders to make sure that we bring the road toll back. I’ve never seen any serious country where they don’t toll their roads,” he stated.
Mr Asenso-Boakye who doubles as Bantama MP in his address also emphasised the need for prompt maintenance of the Eastern Corridor roads, citing parts of their deteriorating condition.
Government canceled road toll collections in 2021 after introducing the e-levy which has failed to live up to its promise.
There have been numerous calls for the tolls to be reintroduced.
However, proponents have stressed that when the tolls are reintroduced they should come in a digitalised form to avoid losses to the state.
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