The General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Asiedu Nketia, has maintained that, an NDC government will not have scrapped toll levy rather broaden the tax net for more revenue to accelerate socioeconomic development.

He expressed disappointment in the government’s inability to mobilise more revenue through property rate but chose to overburden the poor tax payer.

“I did not hear anything in the budget about how the government intends to raise more revenue through property rate and I was disappointed because the government can get enough revenue from property rate,” Mr Nketia said.

He insisted that the NDC was against the government’s decision to abolish all tolls on public roads and bridges across the country and indicated that the policy would only overburden the poor who were struggling to make ends meet under the Akufo-Addo-led administration.

“Per the economic conditions today, it is not sensible to scrap road and bridge tolls and rather introduce electronic taxation to overburden the poor and abolishing road and bridge tolls by the government was a lazy way of raising more revenue,” Mr Nketia stressed.

He questioned the alacrity with which Kwasi Amoako-Atta, the Minister of Roads and Highwaysoperationalised the directive even before the 2022 budget was approved adding that “what hasAmoako-Atta got to hide? Some drivers challenged him to account for the monies accrued in the road fund and why has he not done that?”

Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, while delivering the 2022 budget in Parliament on November 17, 2021, said drivers who ply tolled roads and bridges across the country, will no longer be required to pay toll levy which was received as good news for motorists who spend a lot of time in traffic just to pay the GHC1 toll levy.

It has taken effect after the Minister of Roads and Highways, Mr Amoako-Attah, asked for the closure of toll booths and bridges across the country.