We’ll not pay tow levy – PPP

Progressive People’s Party (PPP) has called on Ghanaians to resist any attempt by the government to impose what it calls “Mandatory Tow Levy.”
‘Ghanaians must object to this lackadaisical attitude towards solving problems in this country. The penchant of successive governments to opt for easier methods of solving problem in this country must not be countenanced. These shortcuts decisions in a long- run go to affect the country adversely,” the PPP, in a statement signed by its National Secretary, Murtala Mohammed, and issued to the media in Accra yesterday said.
District Assemblies all over the country, the statement noted, are enjoined by law to tow all broken down vehicles on “our roads at a fee” while Section 21 of the Road Traffic Act-2004(ACT 683), indicates the penalty for leaving vehicles or trailers on “our roads,” it said.
And instead of enforcing the law, the PPP said, the government was rather charging Ghanaians to pay an extra levy to solve a problem whose solution already exists.
“We cannot continue to sit aloof and watch while successive governments continue to milk the state with impunity under the guise of parliamentary approval. What happened to consultation of the people?” the statement asked.
According to the statement, Parliament must represent the interest of the people but it said in this particular instance, the decision of Parliament did not represent the interest of Ghanaians and therefore, “we must reject this so-called “advisory report” from the Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport.”
“The party finds it absolutely preposterous that the law enjoins us to engage the services of only one company – “Road Safety Management Company Limited,” the statement said.
This particular clause inserted into the law, the PPP asserted, was a recipe for corruption which every Ghanaian must be worried about.
“Its public knowledge that the owners of this company are behind the companies in the SUBAH and SADA scandals that caused the country to lose close to 1 billion Ghana cedes during the NDC administration.
“On what basis did the government and Parliament of Ghana come to the conclusion that, that particular company is the only company in the world that can deliver towing services to Ghana? The district assemblies must contract their own towing companies and collect the approved fees to pay those contractors from fines imposed on offenders. This is not difficult to do and if the government cannot enforce this simple solution, then we will not pay – YENTUA,” the statement stressed.
According to the PPP, the enforcement of the law will rather promote discipline on “our roads since the fees to be imposed on the offenders by the assembly can be designed to ensure compliance with road safety rules.”
The statement also called on government to empower the district assemblies to vote for their DCEs so that they will stand a better chance of enforcing the law and generating revenue for local development.
“We, therefore, call upon Ghanaians to oppose this tow levy by openly speaking against the levy and demonstrate for the revision of the law with immediate alacrity,” the statement concluded.