Wa, Nov. 17, GNA – Dr Kennedy A. Alatinga, a Senior lecturer and Dean of the Faculty of Planning and Land Management of the SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies has described as bad and ill- planned to abolish road tolls.
He also condemned the decision to tax mobile money transaction (Momo) above GH¢100.00 and other electronic banking.
Dr Alatinga told the GNA in Wa after the 2022 budget presentation to Parliament that unemployment was also likely to rise if the road tolls were abolished.
He explained that the road toll was instituted to generate help as part of revenue generation source to support the Road Fund, which was setup in 1985 to secure sources of funding for the preservation of the roads.
He said some provisions in the Road Fund Act, 1997 (Act 536) mandated the Road Fund board to ensure that the nation’s trunk, feeder and urban roads were regularly maintained and that generated revenue at the toll booths was mandatory.
Dr Alatinga said it was necessary to properly and transparently manage the road toll booths to generate more money for development.
“Already, we are grappling with poor road network and we know the havoc long vehicles from neighbouring countries are destroying our roads. So how do we allow all of them to run on our roads for free”, he said.
He claimed that there was excessive hardship in the country and that any policy that will let some people lose their jobs was a bad policy, which must have a second look to sustain jobs.
“Using traffic congestion as some of the reasons for abolishing the road tolls is not a good example because there are parts of the country where traffic congestion is heavier than even around toll booths.
There is no toll booth at Suame in Kumasi, but due to poor road network, there is always traffic congestion there”, he said.
On the tax on mobile and other electronic banking, Dr Alatinga said the situation will prevent people from transacting business electronically, especially as the country was talking about cashless economy.
GNA