<<Print>>

Technical Advisor and Spokesperson for the Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Gideon Boako, has expressed worry over the manner in which road tolls are collected in Ghana.

Dr. Gideon Boako bemoaned the disequilibrium between those who pay road tolls and those who don't.

He stated that majority of the people who pay road tolls are not the rich class but people who earn less income and also reside in remote and undeveloped areas.

He explained that this is so because the toll booths are situated in the hinterlands, therefore the rich evade paying tolls at the expense of the poor.

To him, this is "not equitable. In terms of equity, those who pay toll and where the toll is located is quote and unquote are those who are struggling and these are people who drive far distances to come to the city center to do business, and also waste fuel".

He was also alarmed by how much the tolls cost.

"Look at something like toll booth. When you drive a Land Cruiser, you pay 1 cedi. Isn't it too small? Too little!," he said.

Assessing the situation, Dr. Gideon Boako borrowed an idea from his colleague academic which he believes is a better alternative to bridging the gap between the poor and rich ensuring every Ghanaian pays tolls to help the country generate adequate revenue to improve the road sector and also undertake other developmental projects.

"Why don't we collapse all the tolls and let the toll levy to become a certain universal levy as a percentage of something, maybe fuel prices or something? In that case, everybody pays it and the number of people paying will be more. Even if it's a small percentage, it will benefit every person," he suggested.

He spoke to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM's flagship programme ''Kokrokoo''.