News:
March 26, 2026
The Majority Members of the Roads and Transport Committee have fired back at their Minority counterparts, accusing them of hypocrisy in the ongoing debate over the reintroduction of road tolls.
Led by the Committee Chairman, Isaac Adjei Mensah, the Majority members argued that the Minority lacks the moral authority to criticize the current administration’s pace in implementing the new electronic tolling system. The rebuttal comes in response to a recent Minority press conference that raised concerns over delays in the sector.
“The Minority has no moral justification to call out this government over the absence of road tolls,” Hon. Adjei Mensah stated.
He redirected criticism toward the previous New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, pointing out that it was the then-roads minister who abruptly abolished tolls without following the proper legislative process. According to the chairman, this abrupt cancellation left a void that the current government is now working to rectify.
“It took the Roads and Highways Minister in the previous NPP administration to abruptly abolish and truncate all issues relating to the road toll. We advised them not to go there but to go through the process in Parliament, which they failed to do,” he noted. “Not even their promise of bringing the road toll back was successful.”
In contrast, Adjei Mensah assured that the current government is committed to fulfilling its promise to reintroduce toll collection through a modernized, electronic system.
“This government promised to bring road tolls back and is working assiduously to have it implemented,” he said. “The Committee’s information is that the Ministry has moved as fast as possible to ensure that the finalization of the contract comes to fruition.”
He expressed optimism about the timeline, projecting that by the fourth quarter of this year, the Ministry would finalize all contractual arrangements to begin operations.
Background: The Road Toll Debate
The collection of road tolls in Ghana was a long-standing practice until November 2021, when the Minister for Roads and Highways under the previous administration announced the immediate cessation of toll collections. The decision was met with mixed reactions; while commuters celebrated the removal of physical barriers that often caused traffic, critics warned about the loss of revenue for road maintenance.
The current government has since proposed a shift to an electronic toll collection (ETC) system. This new system aims to improve efficiency, reduce revenue leakages associated with manual collection, and eliminate the traffic congestion caused by physical toll booths.
Minority’s Concerns
In their earlier engagement, the Minority side of the Committee raised questions about the delays in rolling out this electronic system. They expressed concerns that the delay is depriving the state of crucial revenue needed for road infrastructure maintenance and urged the government to expedite the process.
The Majority’s latest response suggests that while the project is behind the initial schedule, significant progress is being made behind the scenes to ensure that the new system is sustainable and avoids the pitfalls of the previous manual regime.
Dominic Shirimori/Ghanamps.com