Government has announced abolishment of tolls paid on all public roads.
This was contained in the 2022 budget statement presented by Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta to Parliament on Wednesday 17, 2021.
The decision he said is to take effect immediately after the Budget is approved.
He said “Government will complete its work with this House to pass the fees bill for implementation in 2022”.
These fees will be subject to automatic adjustment consistent with the annual average inflation as announced by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) he cautioned.
The minister also said a comprehensive review will be conducted after every fifth-year taking into consideration, other factors besides inflation including, improvement in quality of service delivery and privatization of some of the services, where feasible, adding that “Mr. Speaker, our roads need fixing. Our roads are being fixed”.
“It is true that more roads have been fixed and are being fixed over the last five years than any relative period in the entire history of our nation. We even want to do a lot more and this budget will cater for this”.
He said for decades Government after Government imposed and maintained tolls on some public roads to raise funds for road construction and maintenance, a situation he added has been same in many countries.
“However, over the years, the tolling points have become unhealthy market centers led to heavy traffic on our roads, lengthened travel time from one place to another, and impacted negatively on productivity”.
He said the congestion generated at the tolling points, besides creating inconveniences, also leads to pollution in and around those vicinities.
“To address these challenges, the Government has abolished all tolls on public roads and bridges. This takes effect immediately after the Budget is approved (after appropriation or now?). The toll collection personnel will be reassigned. The expected impact on productivity and reduced environmental pollution will more than offset the revenue forgone by removing the tolls. He maintained”
