Roads Minister-Designate for Roads and Highways announces tech-driven return of road tolls

The Roads and Highways Minister-designate, Kwame Governs Agbodza announced Monday that Ghana will reinstate road tolls through a new technological platform, marking a shift from the traditional booth collection system.

During his vetting session before Parliament's Appointments Committee on Monday, January 20, 2025, Mr Agbodza criticised the previous administration's decision to suspend road tolls, describing it as "an act of illegality" that bypassed established law.

"The road toll is coming back, but not in the form of building obstructions on the road," Mr Agbodza said. "It will be based on a technological platform that makes it fair, easy to collect, and easy to account for."

The Minister-designate revealed that road fund accruals have increased from 250 million cedis annually during the former minister Inusa Fuseni's tenure to over 2 billion cedis currently.

Addressing concerns about former toll booth workers, Mr. Agbodza indicated that his ministry would explore opportunities to re-engage experienced personnel within the new system. "If we can re-engage them in other sectors, we should be able to do that," he stated.

In a comprehensive assessment of Ghana's road infrastructure, Mr. Agbodza disclosed that approximately half of the country's estimated 100,000-kilometre road network requires significant improvement. 

He outlined plans for targeted interventions, particularly focusing on critical sections requiring immediate attention before the rainy season.

"We need to take a holistic review of the road network and see what we can do to make quick interventions to those sections that are the worst," he said, emphasising the importance of practical solutions tailored to specific needs, noting that not all roads require asphalt surfacing.