Francis Asenso-Boakye, the Minister of Roads and Highways, has advocated for the reinstatement of road tolls in an effort to raise enough money to close the nation’s road infrastructure deficit.
Road toll collection was stopped in 2021 as part of policy changes the government announced in the budget statement for the year before.
The sector minister stressed the importance of timely maintenance of the Eastern Corridor roads during an evaluation tour of the Accra-Kumasi Highway, pointing out some of their worsening state.
He claims that the majority of developed nations use the money collected from road tolls to fund their infrastructure.He called for the reinstatement of the toll on roads, claiming that no respectable nation does not impose one.
“Before we take action, maintenance also needs money. Many countries use the tolls they collect, the monies from road tolls to finance maintenance. But in our case, we have suspended it. I think it’s a good time for us to have a discussion. We need to bring back these road tolls so that we can get money to maintain our roads. That’s very important. So, other ministries, we have started the process by engaging the various stakeholders to make sure that we bring the road toll back. I’ve never seen any serious country where they don’t toll their roads.”
