The Speaker of Parliament Rt. Hon. Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin has directed the Roads and Highways Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, to reverse his decision to suspend the collection of road tolls.
According to the leader of the legislature the Minister acted wrongly by issuing that command when he should have resorted to Parliament.
The Speaker said the Budget Statement and Government’s Economic Policy are policy proposals that the Minister of Finance has presented to the House and until they are approved nobody has the authority to start implementing something that doesn’t exist.
He, therefore, called on the Roads and Highways Minister to honorably withdraw that directive and warned that failure to do so will be a serious breach of the directive of the Speaker, which would amount to Contempt of Parliament.
For the Speaker, the House is yet to debate the Government’s decision to scrap the tolls throughout the country which is one of the sources of generating revenue into the state kitty.
“I think that it is proper for us to direct the Minister, a Member of this House, in fact, a Senior Member of this House, I think that he might have acted wrongly and therefore I call on him to reverse this decision,” the Speaker ruled.
Ken Ofori-Atta during the Budget Statement presentation indicated that Ghana’s roads need fixing and are being fixed but considering the plight of Ghanaians, he said Government has abolished all tolls on public roads and bridges which takes effect immediately Budget is approved.
The Roads and Highways Minister shockingly rushed to direct the immediate discontinuation of toll collection on all public roads and bridges across the country a few hours after the Finance Minister presented the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to be pursued next year by the Government.
The Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu on Thursday, November 18, 2021 during sitting questioned the powers that the Minister relied on upon to issue such a directive that toll collection at the various toll booths and bridges across the country must be halted with immediate effect, especially when the Budget had not been approved by Parliament.
The Member of Parliament for Adaklu, Governs Kwame Agbodza in support of the Minority Leader said it was quite clear that the Minister sidestepped Parliament by pretending that he as a Minister, not even the Finance Minister, has the right to waive taxes in this country.
The Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea, on his part defended the Minister saying he did not disrespect Parliament and the laws by issuing that order when the budget had not been approved but rather the directive is an administrative error which should have been avoided.
An attempt by the Majority Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu to challenge the Speaker’s directive was unsuccessful because of the Rt. Hon. Speaker advanced superior legislative arguments to buttress his decision.
