A legal practitioner in charge of the Compliance Unit at the National Road Safety Authority, Lawyer Kwame Atuahene has added his voice to calls on the Ghana Highways Authority to remove tollbooths in the country since they are no longer in use.
He said the tollbooths had become obstructions to motorists and could pose dangers to them, therefore must be removed before they cause chaos.
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The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, announced that government has abolished all road tolls.
Presenting the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy of government on the floor of Parliament today Wednesday 17th November 2021, Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori Atta mentioned that a new levy will be imposed to make the toll paying more universal.
He mentioned that over the years, the tolling points have become unhealthy market centres, led to heavy traffic on our roads.
He added that the toll booths have also lengthened travel time from one place to another, and impacted negatively on productivity.
He also said toll booth worker will be re-assigned.
Since then, the booths have remained unused.
Speaking on Atinka TV‘s morning show, Lawyer Kwame Atuahene suggested that even if the Highways Authority does not want to remove the tollbooths, it should create sufficient warnings to motorists so that they may slow down when approaching the tollbooths.
He noticed that when they are in use, drivers slow down when they are approaching the tollbooths, but on regular basis, they mostly drive with speed when using the highway.
At a time the tollbooths are not in use, he pointed they may cause accidents, hence the caution.
Meanwhile, Lawyer Kwame Atuahene confirmed that so far, nothing has occurred, urging the Authorities to act fast.
“We have spoken to the Ghana High Way Authority to do whatever it has to remove them[tollbooths] so that they do not cause any harm before we do something about it,” he said.
He added that,”Either you take them off or give sufficient advance warning of about 500 meters ahead or 1kilometer ahead to notify drivers that there are approaching an unused tollbooth so they should slow down. Ultimately, we want motorists to be safe,” he said.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori
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