Gov’t of Ghana abolishes road tolls

The government of Ghana has abolished road tolls on all public roads and bridges in the country.

The decision takes effect immediately the budget is approved (after appropriation or now?).

The Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori Atta made the announcement on the floor of Parliament on Wednesday, November 17 during the presentation of the 2021 budget monitored by GhanaPlus.com.

According to him, although road tolls are common in many countries, its abolishment has become necessary to mitigate the impact of heavily vehicular traffic and it accompanying challenges experienced at the toll points across the country.

“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,” Mr Ken Ofori Atta said .

“That is why for decades, Government after Government imposed and maintained tolls on some public roads to raise funds for road construction and maintenance. This is the situation in many countries. However, over the years, the tolling points have become
unhealthy market centres, led to heavy traffic on our roads, lengthened travel time from one place to another, and impacted negatively on productivity,” he added .

“The congestion generated at the tolling points, besides creating these inconveniences, also leads to pollution in and around those vicinities.

“To address these challenges, Government has abolished all tolls on public roads and bridges. This takes effect immediately 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 off-set the revenue forgone by removing the tolls,” Mr Ken Ofori Atta said.

Road tolls in Ghana

Ghana have been collecting road tolls for over two decades.

Source: GhanaPlus.com