Toll Workers of Ghana (TWG) have called on Parliament to ensure that government fulfills the promise of paying them monthly salaries when it collapsed the road toll business. In a petition they presented to the Legislative House yesterday, the group also said that they want government to bring back the road toll collection business.
“…So we are asking our Parliamentarians and people in authority that please fulfill your promise of paying us every month until we are re-assigned. And we are also saying that because the re-assignment is taking too long, we believe that it will be difficult for you to re-assign us so bring back the toll operation and let us go back to work”, Mr Edward Duncan, Secretary of TWG said.
It would be recalled that government, through the Ministry of Roads and Highways in November, last year, called for the cessation of toll collection on all public roads that was fetching the government an estimated revenue of GHS78 million annually. The directive issued by the sector Minister, Mr Kwasi Amoako-Atta, followed an announcement made by the Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, during the presentation of the 2022 budget.
The Finance Minister said at the time that although the government needed such revenue to fix roads in the country, it has observed that toll booths are doing more harm than good, causing heavy traffic and impacting negatively on productivity, hence the cessation.
“To address these challenges, the government has abolished all tolls on public roads and bridges. This takes effect immediately after the budget is approved,” the Finance Minister said.
But presenting the petition to the Director Public Affairs in Parliament, Madam Kate Addo yesterday, Mr Duncan noted that government has not fulfilled its promise of paying them monthly stipend until they are re-assigned. He intimated that since the collapse of the toll in November last year, he and his group only received two months’ salary and that no money has been paid to then since the beginning of this year.
He also indicated that after they have stayed home for more than six months, they are convinced that government does not have any job for them, so she should allow them to go back to their toll collection job.
“What we are saying in our petition is that we were promised that toll collection will be scrapped and then we will be given alternate livelihood. We have been sitting home from November last year till now, we have not been given any alternate livelihood.
“Another promise was given to us that we will be paid every month until we are re-assigned. Even that, we were paid November to December, but from January till now, we have not been paid a single penny.”
Mr Duncan also pointed out that the issue of toll collection being the cause of traffic jams at many toll plazas, which was one of the reasons given for the collapse, has turned out to be false.
According to the Secretary, the traffic situation, which existed at many toll stations still persist and that’s an indication that toll collection is not the cause.
“If authorities are saying that toll collection generates traffic, I will say that after the suspension, even now if you go to some of the plazas, tolls have been suspended but there is still massive traffic on those roads… So we are saying toll collection points are not what generate the traffic. These are the issues, so authorities should sit down.”
He said government should consult them and they will give her reasons why there are traffic jams at those places since they are the ones that work there. “We also can give you solutions. We work at the place so we know what the solution is. We will give you practical solution not book solution.”
He pleaded with Parliament to look into the petition and ensure that government comes to their aid because life has not been easy for them. “We hope that they will look into this petition and the recommendations that are made in it and act in it because we are dying of hunger”, Mr Duncan said.
