Destruction of Ayi Mensah tollbooths costs nation GH¢282,000
An estimated GH¢282,000 in revenue has been lost to the state in a little over two months as a result of the non-existence of tollbooths at Ayi Mensah on the Accra-Aburi road.
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This is as a result of the dismantling of the old booths by the Ghana Highway Authority (GHA) following a near fatal accident which occurred on April 18, 2015 when a Ford van from Aburi ran into one of the booths.
A toll collector who was on duty at the time suffered a fractured left hand and bruises on other parts of the body and had to undergo surgery.
In addition, a lady plantain chips seller was also hurt when a metallic object flew off from the point of impact and hit her in the leg.
Since the accident, operations of the toll collectors have ceased.
Revenue loss
When the Daily Graphic visited Ayi Mensah last Tuesday and traced two operators of the booths to their residences, they said an estimated GH¢3,000 was collected every day from Monday to Thursday.
The operators, who spoke to this reporter on condition of anonymity, said, however, that they realised GH¢7,000 from Friday to Sunday, especially during the first and last weekends of every month.
From April 19, 2015, when the toll operation stopped, to last Tuesday, 66 days had elapsed, including 12 weekends.
When multiplied by the amounts made on each day, approximately GHc282,000 had been lost at the time of writing this story.
The collectors said the 16 workers, including two supervisors, engaged at the booths were at home and had not been paid their allowances.
The 14 operators, they said, were all casual workers who were paid a monthly allowance of GH¢300.
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Official ineptitude
According to them, officials from the GHA were at the scene a month after the accident to do some assessments and promised that new booths with enhanced security would be erected at the place.
The collectors, however, regretted that nothing had since been done, while no information had been passed on to them as to when the toll collection would resume.
No risk allowance
They said calls for the institution of risk and night allowances for the operators had so far fallen on deaf ears and any attempt to press home the payment of their allowances had always been met with threats of a lay off.
They said it was not the first time that an accident had occurred at the toll booth, recalling that a little over two years ago a similar incident occurred and in that instance the operator, a physically challenged person, had to jump out of the booth to safety.
They said none of the operators enjoyed any fringe benefits apart from a box of milk and soda water they were provided every three months.
One other challenge confronting them, they said, was the lack of a functioning generator, saying that what they had was a faulty generating set that had not been working for more than a year, adding that during the night, operators had to either use candles or mobile phones to provide light for operations.
Traders affected
Meanwhile, traders who ply their trade at the booth have been hardly hit by the non-operation of the facility.
They sell bread, plantain chips, mint, sachet water and other petty items to commuters when vehicles slow down to pay their toll at the booths.
But with the absence of the toll booths, they said, the vehicles just ran by, without stopping for the passengers to make any purchases.
The situation, they contended, had adversely affected their income, leading to some despondency, with some light- hearted ones going into lifestyles that were not pleasant.
One of the traders, who identified herself as Kubura, a bread seller, said she had gone to the site with 15 loaves of bread the previous day but had succeeded in selling only two.
“We are in the Ramadan period and during this fasting I still have to run after vehicles. Sometimes I return home to break the fast with nothing to eat,” she said.
Security
Some policemen stationed at the barrier close to the toll booth told the Daily Graphic that although they were expected to provide security for the tollbooth operation, the task had become very difficult because no facilities, such as places of convenience and others, had been provided.
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“The GHA came and promised constructing some facilities but nothing has been done and we have to resort to the bush to attend the call of nature,” one of them said.
Mr Geoffrey Okwabi, a newspaper vendor, also narrated his experience of low patronage following the cessation of the toll collection.
For him, selling newspapers had put food on his family’s table over the years and urged the authorities to act swiftly to restore the facility.
Reaction from GHA
When contacted, the Director of Public Affairs of the GHA, Mr Norbert Quarmor, said the authority was making efforts to restore the collection of tolls, saying steps were underway to resume toll collection by July 7, 2015.
He said by that time, temporary toll booths would have been constructed, while plans would be taken to construct permanent ones at a different location.
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With the temporary booths, he said, safety facilities would be improved and speed humps would be constructed to slow down traffic on approaching the toll booth site.
He said new jersey barriers would be put in place to protect the booths and the necessary advance warnings and signals would be deployed.
On the issue of the payment of the allowances of the operators of the booth, he said quite often money from the Road Fund was not released on time, leading to the delay in the payment of allowances.
He expressed optimism that the management of the GHA would take up the matter.
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By the time toll collection resumes on July 7, 2015, an estimated GH¢360,000 would be lost in revenue.
Writer’s email: victor.kwawukume@graphic.com.gh