The Head of Public Relations of the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Mr. Nasir Ahmad Yartey has hinted on the possible introduction of electronic tollbooths.
Speaking with Peace FM, he indicated that this decision would be implemented by next year.
He said the Government will introduce the collection of electronic tolling system on some selected newly constructed roads.
According to him this system is better than the usual manual way of collecting tolls which causes traffic on our roads, but this new system will require a card which will respond after it has been swapped.
He revealed that most of our roads do not have the infrastructure which will allow the collection of roads in the country, so the Government is securing these infrastructure on newly constructed roads to enable the efficient collection of the electronic tolls.
According to Mr. Nasir Ahmed Yartey, the survey conducted showed that Ghana was paying the lowest toll in the whole world with the 0.50p and Ghc 1 but they were not adequate to construct good roads.
Therefore, there will be an increment in the amount paid as road tolls to obtain more funds to construct good roads in the country.
Payment of tolls on public roads ceased in November 2021 as part of the policy measures announced by the government under the 2022 Budget.
However, the government has reintroduced it as one of the revenue measures in the 2023 budget presented to Parliament by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
“The fiscal policy measures to underpin the 2023 Budget for consideration and approval by Parliament include the reintroduction of tolls on selected public roads and highways with a renewed focus on leveraging technology in the collection to address the inefficiencies characterized by the previous toll collection regime,” paragraph 462 of the 2023 Budget statement reads.
