This government’s empathy is questionable – Kwame Jantuah

A member of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Mr Kwame Jantuah has said the empathy of the Akufo-Addo led government is questionable.

He made the comment on TV3 NewDay on Friday, May 13 monitored by GhanaPlus.com.

Mr Jantuah was speaking about the closure of the country’s toll booths and government’s unfulfilled promises to affected workers some five months on.

  …Unfortunately, the empathy from this government is questionable to me, I know it might not be for everybody but to me it is questionable because the people you are ruling are the people who voted you into power and you got to listen to them. They are the government, you are the caretaker and you are there to serve me, am not there to serve you and so if you have come and you have promised me, you have taken my job from me and you promised me and you haven’t fulfill the promise, what do you expect me to do, ” Mr Jantuah lamented.

Toll Booth workers picket at Ministry of Roads and Transport

Ghana Toll Workers Group on Thursday, May 12 picketed at the Ministry of Roads and Highways over their unpaid salaries and failure of government to re-assign them following the closure of the country’s tollbooth in November last year.

The workers numbering over 800 and mostly persons living with disabilities who manned the country’s tollbooth were rendered jobless following the closure of the toll booths.

They lament their lives have been difficult since they were rendered jobless and their salaries kept in areas in since then.

Goernment have also refused to re-assign them to their new duties as stated in the 2022 budget statement presented to Parliament in November last year.

Gov’t of Ghana abolishes road tolls

The government of Ghana, on Wednesday, November 17, through the Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta announced it has abolish road tolls on all public roads and bridges in the country.

The decision according to them was to help mitigate the impact of heavy vehicular traffic recorded at the various toll points and it accompanying challenges.

Presenting the 2020 Budget Statement in Parliament, Mr Ofori-Atta said workers of the various toll booths will be reassigned.

“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.

However, government is yet to fulfill its promises to the workers.

Source: GhanaPlus.com