Bussiness
‘Big men’ in Ghana weren’t paying tolls – Kofi Kapito
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA), Mr Kofi Kapito has revealed that ‘big men’ were not paying road tolls.
He said the state lost money through the failure of these personalities to pay tolls.
“Big men don’t pay tolls in Ghana so why wont they lose money,” he said on the New Day show on TV3 Friday May 12.
He wondered why the roads were bad although the tolls were being collected.
“how can you construct toll booth and the road near the booth is nonsense? He asked.
Also contributing on the same show, a private legal practitioner Mr Kwame Jantuah asked the government to account for the road tolls that were collected prior to suspending the collection.
He said the tolls were meant to refurbish the roads. However, these roads have not been in the best of shape.
This, he said, raises questions about what the tolls were used for.
“ideally, tolls are supposed to be used to maintain the roads but the state of the motorway has been the same,” he said.
“The road tolls that were collected, what have they been used for ?” He questioned.
Road toll collections were suspended after the Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta announced in the budget statement an end to the collection of the tolls.
During the presentation of the 2022 budget statement to Parliament on Wednesday November 17, he said this takes effect immediately the Budget is approved.
“A comprehensive review will be conducted after every fifth-year taking into consideration, other factors besides inflation including, improvement in quality of service delivery and privatisation of some of the services, where feasible. Mr. Speaker, our roads need fixing. Our roads are being fixed. It is true that more roads have been fixed and are being fixed over the last five years than any relative period in the entire history of our nation. We even want to do a lot more and this budget will cater for this.
“That is why for decades, Government after Government imposed and maintained tolls on some public roads to raise funds for road construction and maintenance. This is the situation in many countries. However, over the years, the tolling points have become unhealthy market centres, led to heavy traffic on our roads, lengthened travel time from one place to another, and impacted negatively on productivity.
“The congestion generated at the tolling points, besides creating these inconveniences, also leads to pollution in and around those vicinities. To address these challenges, Government has abolished all tolls on public roads and bridges. This takes effect immediately the Budget is approved (after appropriation or now?). The toll collection personnel will be reassigned. The expected impact on productivity and reduced environmental pollution will more than off-set the revenue forgone by removing the tolls.”
Source: 3news.com
Ghana’s gold and minerals sector is set for a major spotlight as Meetings. Co, in partnership with key industry stakeholders, announces the Mining & Minerals Convention 2025, scheduled from August 26-27, 2025, at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City, Accra.
Held under the theme “Shaping the Future of Ghana’s Gold Industry,”‘ the Convention will convene government leaders, regulators, miners, refiners, investors, sustainability partners, innovators, and responsible mining, and global competitiveness,policy experts to explore strategies that position Ghana’s gold industry for long-term growth.
The two-day convention will feature presidential and ministerial keynote addresses, industry thought leadership, technical paper presentations, policy dialogues, fireside chats, exhibitions, and high-level networking sessions.
Convention delegates can anticipate a dynamic and insightful experience, marked by thought leadership from leading policymakers and regulators, in-depth discussions on key topics such as sustainability, ESG, digital gold, and responsible sourcing, as well as valuable opportunities to forge public-private partnerships and investment deals.
Moreover, the event will offer practical action points aimed at unlocking greater economic value for Ghana.
The 2025 edition will be supported by a strong coalition of strategic partners, including the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Minerals Commission, GoldBod, the Minerals Income and Investment Fund (MIIF), and the Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (GHEITI).
The Minister for Finance Hon. Cassiel Ato Forson has disclosed that a sum of nine hundred and Eighty-Seven Million, Nine Hundred and Sixty-Five thousand and Seventy-Three Ghana Cedis (GHS987,965,073.00) from the Consolidated Fund into the District Assembly Common Fund Account, being the first quarter amount due to the DACF.
Furthermore, the Finance Minister informed the House that a total amount of Two Billion, Thirty- Three Million, Four Hundred and Sixty-Nine Thousand, Six Hundred and Seven Ghana Cedis (GHS2,033,469,607) has been disbursed to the National Health Insurance Fund.
While the Ghana Education Trust Fund has also received a total of Two Billion, Seven and Ten Million, Two Hundred and Twenty-Seven Ghana Cedis (GHS2,710,227,947.00) for the months January, February, March and April,2025.
The Finance Minister disclosed this in his statement to Parliament on the payments to statutory funds on the floor of the House.
In addition, he cautioned that the Administrator of the District Assembly Common Fund is required to ensure that 80% of this amount is transferred directly to the Assemblies without fail and expenditure returns submitted to the Ministry of Finance before subsequent releases will be made.
He added that Members are encouraged to monitor the utilization of these amounts sent to their respective Assemblies in line with the approved guidelines by Cabinet.
In his closing remark, Ato Forson said he’s going to take the concerns of the House seriously.
For his part, the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga made known the President’s prioritization of women in the country stating that President Mahama is “Pro-women”.
This is due to the fact that women are going to be the core beneficiaries from the expenditures going to be made by the MMDA’s, he added.
The Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin questioned the Finance Minister why road contractors have not been paid for more than five months. He said the Minister must not be applauded for since the allocation of these funds were long overdue.
