Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Vice President and flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has called for the return of a wider road toll system to help pay for the development of Ghana’s road infrastructure.
During a tour of the Volta Region, the Vice President said that bringing back a broader tolling system would provide the money needed for infrastructure development. He was responding to citizens’ concerns about the bad condition of roads at a meeting with the clergy in the region.
Dr. Bawumia said that the Government does not have enough money to carry out infrastructure development and that innovative ways, such as road tolling, would provide a solution.
He added that the Government’s approach to funding roads should be reconsidered and that the private sector could add to the money from road tolls to provide the needed relief.
“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,” he said.
“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.”
Dr. Bawumia said that the private sector would provide a lease payment option to help build the infrastructure the nation needs, just as they did in powering the nation’s digital agenda.
The Vice President also outlined his vision for Ghana if he is elected president. He said he would expand agriculture, ensure power sufficiency, and reform the nation’s tax system.
He emphasized the need to formally recognize the church for its role in national development and said it would be given the necessary support.
Rev. Seth Mawutor, Chairman of the Christian Council in the Volta Region, said that the nation’s peace must be protected throughout the election period and that the Council would continue to provide the needed support.
Dr. Bawumia was accompanied by the leadership of the NPP, including Mr. Stephen Ntim, National Chairman of the NPP, and Mr. Stephen Asamoah Boateng, the Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.
The Vice President also met with members of the Muslim community and the Volta Region House of Chiefs. He is scheduled to engage with the youth at a forum at the Ho Technical University before moving to the Oti Region on Friday.
