Former Minister for Roads and Highways under the erstwhile New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration, Francis Asenso Boakye, has refuted claims that President John Dramani Mahama’s proposal to reintroduce road toll through a digital system is an innovative initiative.
The Bantama MP contended that the groundwork was laid by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government led by Nana Akufo-Addo.
Speaking at the 9th Ghana CEO Summit and Awards Expo on May 26, President Mahama announced his administration’s plan to reintroduce road tolls in a modernised, cashless format that eliminates the need for physical tollbooths.
The proposed system aims to harness digital tools, including Ghana Card-linked vehicle ownership data, facilitating automatic billing and mobile money payments.
While the Mahama administration has framed this initiative as a component of its broader digital transformation agenda, Mr Asenso Boakye took to his Facebook on Tuesday, May 27, to “set the record straight.”
He stressed that the NPP government, during his tenure as Roads Minister, had already devised a comprehensive strategy to digitise toll collection even before Mahama took office in January 2025.
“In 2021, the NPP administration made the bold decision to suspend manual toll collection. That decision was based on four critical issues: low revenue yield, severe congestion, high vehicle operating costs, and revenue leakages,” he posted.
He further noted that the NPP government had initiated the development of a technology-driven alternative by leveraging existing digital infrastructure such as the Ghana Card and the Digital Address System.
He observed that the Cabinet approved the reintroduction of road toll via a digital platform in 2024, with the Ministry of Roads and Highways was adopting a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model under Act 1039.
He concluded that, his statement serves to clarify the NPP’s prior initiatives in the realm of digital toll collection, asserting that the groundwork for such advancements was already established before the current administration’s proposals.
