President Mahama recently indicated the government is considering digitalizing the country’s toll booths to allow for car owners to use their Ghana Cards and mobile money accounts to pay road tolls under an automated system.

But according to Ing. Dr. William Ackaah, Head of the Transportation Engineering Division at the Building and Road Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-BRRI), a well-structured data system that links vehicle registration numbers directly to owners will enable proper monitoring and accountability.

“If we have a very strong database, then it is possible for us to link the vehicle registration numbers to the vehicle owners so that we will be able to track and get them,” he told David Akuetteh on Luv Fm.

Dr. Ackaah noted that Ghana’s current challenges with enforcement and tracking stem largely from weak data infrastructure.

“We need to build a strong database. Most of our problem is the fact that we don’t have a strong database, a reliable one. The Ghana Post GPS address, I don’t know how we use it now to track where people live,” he said.

Citing challenges with national identification and telecom records, Dr. Ackaah questioned the country’s ability to manage the automated toll compliance under current systems.

“My only problem is how we are going to trace people with our database. Already we have issues with the mobile registration system. Some people are able to use some IDs which the current communication minister says he’s going to do a re-registration.

“We have instances where people borrow money from MTN, they know what they are doing. They will make sure that money doesn’t get into their account. That is why I would prefer we have a prepaid system,” he added.

As part of the solution, Dr. Ackaah recommended implementing flexible toll payment plans to reduce the burden on road users and encourage compliance.

“They can have a daily plan which will be flexible so that they don’t pay so much. Let’s say you can buy a daily plan for Gh¢10 and use it as many times as you can or can have a weekly or monthly plan and as you buy the plan, the price gets reduced,” he suggested.

Public Relations Officer of the Volta Regional GPRTU, Awilo Attito, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that the union supports the initiative, provided the funds are effectively used.

“It has come to our notice that the government, through the Roads and Highways Ministry, intends to reintroduce road tolls. We welcome the idea, but the revenue generated must be used well to maintain and repair roads for the safety of users,” he stated.

He noted that tolls previously helped reduce road congestion by discouraging unnecessary trips, which in turn minimized accidents and loss of lives. He urged the government to allocate part of the revenue to road safety measures such as speed cameras, improved street lighting, and better emergency response systems.

“Government must ensure that the revenue from road tolls is properly used to fund new infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, and tunnels. They should also be ready to render an account annually,” he added.

The union also plans to engage with the Ministry of Roads and Highways to ensure proper education and awareness for drivers and road users before the policy takes effect.

Mr. Attito further appealed to drivers to accept the reintroduction of tolls and comply with road regulations to avoid penalties. He also called on the government to engage transport unions whenever fuel prices are adjusted to allow for proper fare reviews.

Additionally, he urged drivers to uphold professionalism, especially during the upcoming Valentine’s Day celebrations.

Several drivers in Keta shared their views with GNA, expressing approval of the policy while urging the government to ensure toll revenue is used to repair bad roads and address other pressing national concerns.

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The minister, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, revealed this when he took his turn at the Meet-The-Press series organised by the Information Ministry Tuesday.

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With tolls representing the second biggest share of revenue to the Ghana Road Fund, he is expecting “that the launch of the National Tolling Policy would improve revenue mobilisation efforts by the Ministry and curb revenue losses and leakages.”

The Fund is mandated to provide funds to finance routine maintenance, periodic maintenance and rehabilitation of public roads.

The ministry generates its revenue from fuel levy, bridge, ferry and road tolls, vehicle licensing and inspection fees, international transit fees as well as other charges in consultation with Finance Minister.

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Touching on road safety, the Minister announced an improved Road Safety programme at an estimated cost of $7.22 million.

Issues of road safety have become topical in recent times with the National Road Safety Commission recently announcing that by June 2018, the Commission had recorded 1,212 deaths as a result of road traffic accidents.

“The project consists of a road accident database management system (RADMS), a Lollipop program in 500 schools, training needs assessment and other activities agreed with the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC),” he explained.

The Minister also announced the introduction of Labour-Based Works in furtherance of the government’s policy of creating more jobs and decent work to alleviate poverty.

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This involves the construction of feeder roads using the Labour Based Technology.

“If planned investments were made in the construction of feeder roads using the Labour Based Technology there was going to be a boost in employment with about 90 workers per contractor,” Mr Amoako-Atta said.

According to him, the project is also going to increase access to farm inputs, markets and promote agriculture as well as bridge the vast infrastructure gap which is critical to accelerating economic growth of the country.