Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam Nartey George, has inquired if E-levy will be withdrawn with the reintroduction of road tolls.
He explained that government introduced E-levy as a replacement for road tolls for the construction of roads, hence, E-levy should be scrapped if road tolls are collected.
“They just wake up suspend it and say that that’s the end of it. And told us that they were introducing the E-levy because they had removed road tolls. Are we to now understand that because road tolls are coming back we will stop paying e-levy?”
“I think this is the question we must be legitimately asking and demanding proper answers because one of the reasons and justifications for this poorly thought-out policy was that we were going to pay E-levy, E-levy was going to be used for roads and so no need for road tolls.
“Now we’re not bringing just the road tolls, we’re bringing it back with an almost 100% increase in all road tolls. Did we go or did we come?” he quizzed.
The lawmaker questioned the basis for government’s reinstatement of the road tolls.
He indicated that even if parliament approves the reintroduction, most toll booths need to be
refurbished.
“On what basis are you bringing back the road tolls? The problem is you have left these toll booths to deteriorate so it then means that taxpayers’ money is going to be used again to rehabilitate those toll booths. Many of those toll booths have been run down.
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“And so it’s not as though even if we approve this in parliament today the workers can just go sit there. They are now going to spend money again. Award contracts to their friends and cronies to go and rehabilitate the toll booths.”
He went on: “First they deprived us of at least GHc72 million every year then they spent money to decommission the toll booth.”
“Now we’re going to spend money to rehabilitate the toll booths now we’re going to pay more as citizens,” he said on Accra-based Metro TV.