Kwame Governs Agbodza, the Minister-Designate for Roads and Highways, has delivered a scathing critique of the previous government’s decision to abolish road tolls, describing the move as an “illegal act” that has left Ghana’s road infrastructure struggling for funding.

During his vetting in Parliament on Monday, January 20, Agbodza passionately outlined his grievances, painting a dire picture of the financial repercussions of the decision.

“The decision to abolish road tolls was an illegal act. We cautioned against this move, but our warnings were ignored,” he began, shedding light on the National Democratic Congress’s (NDC) earlier objections to the policy.

According to him, members of the NDC on the Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament had raised concerns about the potential impact of cancelling tolls but were disregarded by the government of the time.

Agbodza highlighted how deeply the Road Fund relied on toll revenue, stressing that the abolition had severely disrupted efforts to maintain and expand the nation’s road network.

“The Road Fund relies heavily on toll revenue. This decision has caused significant financial strain on efforts to maintain our road network,” he stated.

The minister-designate further revealed staggering figures to illustrate the lost opportunities caused by the cancellation.

“Accrual to the Road Fund was only GH¢250 million, and we worked to increase it to GH¢1.5 billion.

Today, it is over GH¢2 billion, so we cautioned the government against cancelling the road tolls, and we were surprised that they cancelled it. It was an act of illegality to cancel it,” he explained.

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