Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, the minister-designate for finance, has reiterated the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) pledge to reinstate road tolls.
Ato Forson declared that the government would resume collecting road tolls during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on January 13, 2025.
“Mr Chairman, the NDC indicated from Day 1 that the road tolls will come back. We are not running away from it. In fact, the Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, at the time the then Minority Leader of the NDC, promised to bring back the road tolls. We have not run away from that fact.
“So I can assure you, we are a party that sticks to our promises. And whatever we have promised to do, we will do just that,” he informed the committee.
Ato Forson went on to say that road toll collection is a widely recognized practice and an essential source of money for road upkeep.
“If you use the road, you pay a toll. It is a standard practice worldwide. Ghana will not be the first or last country to adopt this,” He clarified ‘
Background
Then-Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta declared in November 2021 that all tolls on public roads and bridges will be eliminated.
The decision went into effect right away, which sparked discussions about how it would affect funding for road infrastructure.
Despite being in opposition, the NDC continuously criticized the policy, arguing that tolls were required for the construction of sustainable infrastructure.
Source: newsthemegh.com