“It is just rumours, it is not true”: Road Toll Workers Union denies allegations of duplicate receipts

General Secretary of the Road Toll Workers Union, Edward Duncan, has denied allegations that toll booth workers issue duplicate receipts, diverting funds into private accounts.

Speaking to ABC News GH on Tuesday, January 14, he debunked the claims as baseless, stating, “It is a rumour, it is not true.”

He emphasized that such allegations lack basis and called for evidence before tarnishing the reputation of the union’s members.

The discussion comes amid growing debates about the potential reintroduction of road tolls, a move supported by various stakeholders, including the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Duncan revealed that NDC MPs such as Kwame Agbodza are staunch advocates for the reintroduction, viewing it as a sustainable revenue source for national projects.

Appearing before parliaments appointment Committee on Monday  January 13, was the Finance Minister Designate Hon. Ato Forson who discussed his plans to bring back road tolls as part of governments fiscal strategy.

The amount of revenue the government of Ghana receives from road tolls varies. In March 2023, the Deputy Roads Minister said that the government used to receive around GH₵70 million from road tolls.

In 2023,  the government planned raking in at least a minimum amount of 1billion Ghana Cedis across the country when the booth becomes operational.

In 2028, the Ghana Highways authority announced that it generated about 1.8million cedis from about 36 booths across the country.

Road toll cessation in Ghana was a directive issued in 2021 by the Roads and Highways Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Atta.

The directive was based on a proposal to abolish road tolls that was presented in the 2022 budget. However, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, directed the Minister to withdraw the directive.

Prior to abolishing road tolls in Ghana, the government was raking in GHS 70 million yearly from the collection, however it added that if everybody paid the tolls, the state could have generated GHS2 billion per annum.

To that end, the previous government suggested a broad-based tolling system as Ghana seeks to reintroduce the tolling system.

Some also raised the arguments of government excluding the wealthier parts of the population.