A cross section of Ghanaians in the Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolis are backing the calls for the reintroduction of Toll booths as proposed by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana (UG).
According to the Institute, the reintroduction of the toll booths will form part of government’s fiscal consolidation meausres.
It stated that the toll booths should be reinstated with an efficient electronic – pass system to address congestion on some parts of the country’s roads.
Professor Quartey made the call during a presentation at the 2022 edition of the ISSER Road show on the State of the Ghanaian Economy Report (SGER) 2020 and Ghana’s Social Development Outlook (GSDO), held in collaboration with the University of Education, Winneba.
The event was held on the theme: ‘Harnessing Stakeholder Engagement and Feedback for Research for Impact’ and it provided a platform to discuss the successes and ways to boost the economy through a non – partisan lens.
On November 18, 2021, the Roads Ministry closed all toll booths across the country following an announcement by the Minister of Finance during the 2022 budget presentation to the effect that toll collection would no longer exist.
Speaking to Beach News Room, a resident in Takoradi said, the revenues from the toll booth can add up to the proceeds from E-levy.
“I agree with government bringing back the toll booths, revenues generated from the booths can add up to the gains from the E-levy charges to help with government’s vision on creating jobs and fixing the country,” he said.
Mr Eshun, an accountant was of the view that the tollbooths should not have been taken off in the first place. He called also called on the government to bring back the booths to rake in more income to support government projects.
Meanwhile, government is targeting to achieve a fiscal deficit of 7.4 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022, as against the projected 12.1 per cent for 2021, in a bid to salvage the economy.
Consequently, it has introduced a few economic policies including the imposition of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-levy) to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation and reduce borrowing.
According to Prof. Quartey, the outright removal of road tolls put the government in a bad light because it sent wrong signals to private investors who wished to partner government in other projects.
He insisted that the tollbooths should be reopened and effectively and efficiently operated.
Prof. Quartey observed that Ghana’s economy suffered turbulent moments in the first quarter of 2022 owing to an array of developments both internally and globally.
He said the economy was badly hit by the rise in crude oil prices from $74.17 per barrel in December 2021 to $130 as of March 7, 2022, before going down to $115 as of March 24.
He also observed that the Cedi had cumulatively depreciated by 15.6 per cent against the dollar, 13.4 per cent against the Pound Sterling, and 13.3 per cent against the Euro.
“At end of December 2021, the public debt stock had increased from ¢351.8 billion which was 80.1 per cent of GDP as compared to the ¢218.2 billion in December 2020,” he added.
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He, however, noted that the prevailing hardship in the country was not a peculiar situation, citing the 2022 inflation rates of the US, Germany, and the UK.
He averred that despite the challenges, the country was growing with good prospects.
For fiscal consolidation, Prof. Quartey said, government must embark on aggressive revenue mobilisation through efficient tax and non-tax revenue-generating measures.
He noted, for instance, that the property rate of ¢468 million earmarked for 2022 was inadequate in view of the number of properties in the country and urged the government to do more.
