The Government of Ghana has said it will deliberate on the proposals made by the Ghana Charismatic Bishops’ Conference for road tolls to be increased.
The Conference has advised that increasing road tolls is an effective means of raising revenue for various road projects in the country.
A communiqué signed by its General Secretary, Rev. Kwesi Deh, said road tolls should be raised to at least the level of USD1 per vehicle across the country.
“Raise the tolls at least to the level of USD1 per car. Even Zimbabwe, in its financial difficulty, charges $1 per car as toll rate. Create an office and let the local dwellers cast the concrete: Use the people that live in the towns and villages, along that stretch of road, to cast concrete along that stretch,” it stated.
“Build the road network by using concrete roads. 10 inches of concrete can be cast, with the width of 3 lanes (12 meters wide), for several miles. The Tema motorway is an example of a concrete road that has served Ghana for decades… Let Ghanaian roads be covered with multiple international-standard tollbooths that do not cause traffic. These tollbooths will be used to directly finance roads. Perhaps, every 40 to 50km should have a tollbooth.”
Speaking in an interview with Chief Jerry Forson, host of Ghana Yensom, on Accra100.5FM on Tuesday 14 March, Kwesi Amoako-Atta, Minister of Roads and Highways, noted that road construction and maintenance was a capital-intensive venture, therefore, there was the need to raise more revenues to embark on these projects.
He said government would deliberate over the suggestions made by the conference and determine the way forward.
“There are a lot of vehicles transiting through Ghana to other West African countries, including Ivory Coast, and so we need to take tolls seriously,” he added.
“Apart from the fuel levy, the second highest contributor to the Road Fund is the tolls we collect on the roads, but we need to increase them for more revenues, to enable us maintain the roads. Road construction is a very expensive expenditure and capital-intensive and so we need money to construct roads.
“And so the suggestions given by the Bishops are good suggestions. We will deliberate over those suggestions and if it sits well with Ghanaians, we will consider it.”
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com
