Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has advocated for an expansion of Ghana’s road-tolling architecture to ensure it is more inclusive and encompassing.
The proposal comes in the wake of the government’s 2022 budget decision to abolish road tolls, which was replaced by the introduction of the electronic transaction levy (E-Levy).
Former Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta justified the abolition by citing congestion and traffic jams at toll booths. However, in the midyear budget review, the government announced the reintroduction of road tolls in 2025.
Speaking at the Ghana Highway Authority’s golden jubilee anniversary, Dr. Bawumia highlighted the inequalities inherent in the current road tolling system.
He pointed out that wealthier areas are often excluded from toll collection, while other regions face toll booths frequently.
He urged that the current system be broadened to cover all road users before its reintroduction.
“My view is that we need to think about broad-based tolling. The current architecture that we have in tolling tends to exclude even the wealthier parts of the population and so if I live in Cantonment, East Legon, or Ridge, which are high-end neighbourhoods, I will not see a tollbooth.
But if I live in Kasoa or somewhere else, I am likely to meet a tollbooth on the road, and there seems to be an inequity in tolling, and so I believe that we should look at broad-based tolling.”
Explore the world of impactful news with CitiNewsroom on WhatsApp!
Click on the link to join the Citi Newsroom channel for curated, meaningful stories tailored just for YOU: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaCYzPRAYlUPudDDe53x
No spam, just the stories that truly matter! #StayInformed #CitiNewsroom #CNRDigital
