The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako Attah has stated that the proposed E-levy would be used to raise funds for massive development.
He said the levy would be securitised and used to raise bonds to develop the country of which the road sector features prominently.
Speaking on the floor of parliament today, the sector minister said the e-levy would help government provide the road infrastructure in fulfillment of its ‘Year of Roads’ agenda.
“The government in its wisdom has proposed the passage of the E-levy to bring in more revenue to build the road infrastructure of our country for all of us. So the government is looking forward to the passage of the E-levy that would bring in greater revenue and would be securitized and used to raise bonds if possible to build the road sector infrastructure. Government’s direction and policy is to bring in a better form of correction because the toll revenue is built in the proposed E-levy and so that is what government is ensuring it is brought into being,” he stated.
The Minister was addressing a question posed by a Member of Parliament on losses government has incurred following the cancellation of road tolls across the country.
In Parliament on Friday, March 4, Ranking Member on the Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament Governs Kwame Agbodza wanted to know the amount of revenue lost between the time the directive was given in the evening of the reading of the 2022 budget statement on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 and its approval on Tuesday, November 30, 2021.
“Mr Speaker, I rise to ask the Minister for Roads and Highways what is the estimated loss of revenue, till date, due to the cessation of collection of bridge and road tolls as contained in the Ministry’s press release dated 17th November 2021.”
But Mr Amoako-Atta, who is also a Member of Parliament (MP) for Atiwa West Constituency, could not give figures and only said road tolls have been zero-rated as a result of the approval of the budget.
