Road tolls: Amoako-Atta will answer for financial loss – Asiedu Nketia

Should the National Democratic Congress (NDC) come back to power, the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr. Kwasi Amoako-Atta, will answer for causing financial loss to the state by his directive to road toll collectors to stop collecting tolls across the country just a day after the 2022 budget was read, even though it had not been approved by parliament, Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the General Secretary of the biggest opposition party, has hinted.

The Akufo-Addo-led government has proposed the scrapping of road tolls in the 2022 budget.

Although the budget has not been approved yet, Mr Amoako-Atta has already directed that no one should pay road tolls.

Unhappy with his directive, parliament, through the Speaker, Mr Alban Bagbin, directed the minister to immediately reverse his order.

The minister explained that his order was to prevent confusion and fisticuffs at the tollbooths after the finance minister presented the 2022 budget, which contained the proposal to scrap all tollbooths.

Speaking on Accra100.5FM’s morning show Ghana Yensom on Monday, 29 November 2021, Mr Nketia said the transport minister has caused financial loss to the state and a future government must haul him to answer for that.

He said: “When you announced that the road toll introduced by parliament has been cancelled and, so, no one should pay road toll, you’ve broken the law...”

“As of now, the monies they need to collect that they are not collecting, when a better government comes, he [Amoako-Atta] has to be invited to answer for causing financial loss to the state”, Mr Asiedu Nketia said.

“He’ll have to explain because this road toll and lack of accountability has brought anger in the country…”

The government is replacing the road toll with a new tax called the e-levy on all electronic transactions.

It affects electric bank transactions and mobile money transfers.