Professor Patrick Asuming from the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) has called for the removal of the e-levy, describing it as a detrimental tax.
He expressed skepticism about the government’s intention to reintroduce road tolls, noting that similar promises in the past have not been fulfilled.
Speaking on TV3’s “The Key Points” on July 27, Professor Asuming stated, “The e-levy is a bad tax that should be removed with or without the road tolls. I am very suspicious that these road tolls will be back. In 2023, they stated they were going to reintroduce some tolls that were removed, but we didn’t hear anything about it. Now you are saying this. I am not sure there is a real intention to bring back the road tolls. It was a bad idea to remove the road tolls.”
The government ceased road toll collections in 2021 following the introduction of the e-levy, which was intended to replace the tolls.
However, the e-levy has not met expectations, prompting the government to reconsider road tolls. The Finance Minister, Dr. Mohammed Amin Adam, announced that Cabinet has approved a framework to reintroduce tolls by 2025.
This announcement was made during the mid-year budget review in Parliament on July 23.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) flagbearer, also emphasized the need to bring back road tolls to fund infrastructure projects.
In June, he noted that the government lacks sufficient funding for infrastructure and suggested that road tolls could provide a necessary revenue stream.
He remarked, “Let us go back to a system of broad-based road tolls. The tolling system has to come back, and I think it will come back. It is a fundamental mistake of the government to place all road projects on the budget. The government doesn’t have enough money and the private sector has to be brought in.”
In summary, the government is considering the reintroduction of road tolls in 2025 due to the underperformance of the e-levy, despite past unfulfilled promises and ongoing doubts about their commitment to this plan.