The Ranking Member on the Roads Committee of Parliament has demanded the deduction of GH¢10 million from the funds allocated to the Roads and Highways Ministry for the year, 2022.
According to him, the Ministry, through the directive to cease collection of road toll, has caused the nation to lose about GH¢10 million, hence has to be surcharged.
Contributing to the debate on the budget estimates for the Roads and Highways Ministry, on Wednesday, he said that “the Minister (Kwasi Amoako-Attah) has failed to make substantive comments about the reasons he suspended toll collection and what the future will be, for road toll in this country.”
“Mr Speaker, we know that we might have lost about GH¢10 million. The Ministry is struggling even to pay salaries, yet when we approve for them to collect GH¢78 million, they decided to throw away GH¢10 million,” Mr. Agbodza added.
In November, Roads and Highways Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Attah directed that toll collection at the various toll booths across the country must be halted effective Thursday, November 18, 2021.
This followed an announcement by the government that motorists who ply tolled roads across the country, will no longer be required to pay tolls.
The Finance Minister disclosed this during the 2022 Budget presentation on the floor of Parliament, adding that the abolishment of road toll would take effect after the Budget is approved.
Despite this caveat, Ahotoronline.com sighted a letter signed by Roads and Highways Minister Kwasi Amoako-Attah directing that it be implemented by midnight of Thursday, November 18, 2021.
However, at a post-budget workshop later in November, the Adaklu MP, Mr. Agbodza described the 2022 Budget as a mess, stating that the Roads and Highways Minister could be cited for willfully causing financial loss to the state.
“Out of populist behaviour, the Roads Minister illegally as I always said, a lawyer who breaks the law with impunity. Illegally decides to suspend the collection or cancel road toll,” he said.
The ranking member added that “the Minister of Finance pretends they can’t see, hear, or do anything about it, since the Roads Minister embarked on this illegality, the Finance Minister says nothing.”
Meanwhile in Parliament on Wednesday, December 15, Mr Agbodza said he will only support the estimate for the Roads Ministry if the GHS10million is deducted from the money allocated to them.
“I can only support the estimate of this Ministry, if we get to appropriation and we deduct GH¢10 million (out of the estimated budget). I will not be able to support unless we take the GH¢10 million, which is money they deliberately lost out of the road fund. If we get there and they don’t deduct it, I will not be able to support the Ministry on that basis.”
