Bring back road tolls – ISSER advises government
The Government has been advised by the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana to go back to the road toll system as part of fiscal consolidation measures.
It advised that the toll booths should be introduced with an efficient electronic pass system to ease congestion in some parts of the country.
Professor Peter Quartey, Director of ISSER made this appeal during a presentation at the 2022 edition of the ISSER Roadshow on the State of the Ghanaian Economy Report (SGER) 2020 and Ghana’s Social Development Outlook (GSDO), held in collaboration with the University of Education, Winneba.
The programme was based on the theme: ’Harnessing Stakeholder Engagement and Feedback for Research Impact’, and it provided a platform to discuss the successes and challenges of Ghana’s economy and ways to boost the economy through a non-partisan lens.
Roads and Highways Ministry on Thursday, November 18, 2021, following an announcement by the Minister of Finance during the 2022 budget presentation to the effect that toll collection would no longer exist closed all road toll booths across the country.
However, the government is targeting to achieve a fiscal deficit of 7.4 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022, as against the projected 12.1 per cent for 2021, in a bid to salvage the economy.
As a result, it has introduced a few economic policies including the imposition of the Electronic Transactions Levy (E-levy) to strengthen domestic revenue mobilisation and reduce borrowing.
Professor Peter Quartey, explained that the outright removal of road tolls put the government in a bad light because it sent wrong signals to private investors who wished to partner with the government in other projects.
He observed that Ghana’s economy in the first quarter of 2022 suffered turbulent moments owing to an array of developments both internally and globally.
Also, he said the economy was badly hit by the rise in crude oil prices from $74.17 per barrel in December 2021 to $130 as of March 7, 2022, before going down to $115 as of March 24.
Prof Quartey observed that the Cedi had cumulatively depreciated by 15.6 per cent against the dollar, 13.4 per cent against the Pound Sterling and 13.3 per cent against the Euro.
“At end of December 2021, the public debt stock had increased to GHC351.8 billion cedis which were 80.1 per cent of GDP as compared to the GHC218.2 billion in December 2020,” he added.
He, then noted that the prevailing hardship in the country was not a peculiar situation, citing the 2022 inflation rates of the US, Germany, and UK while also touting the prospects of the country despite the challenges.
For fiscal consolidation, Prof. Quartey said, the government must embark on aggressive revenue mobilisation through efficient tax and non-tax revenue-generating measures.
He noted, for instance, that the property rate of GHC468 million earmarked for 2022 was inadequate given the number of properties in the country and urged the government to do more.
