The current capacity of Ghana’s Road Fund can only sustain about sixty percent of the country’s road maintenance needs. To address the forty percent shortfall, Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, Isaac Adjei Mensah is proposing as one of the ways to increase revenue accruing to the Ghana Road Fund, that a consideration be made to place a levy on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) used as fuel for cars.
Mr. Adjei Mensah was delivering the keynote address at a Public Forum on Financing Road Maintenance here in Bolgatanga on Thursday.
The public forum on financing road maintenance was organized under the auspices of the ministry of roads and highways.
It was attended by a parliamentary select committee on roads and transport led by deputy roads and highways minister, Isaac Adjei Mensah, Members of the Ghana Road Fund Board and officials of the Road fund secretariat, members of the road contractors association and other stakeholders in the roads and transport industry.
The focus of the forum was to deliberate on how revenue mobilized for the Ghana road fund can be increased since the fund has become insufficient for Ghana’s road maintenance needs.
Delivering the keynote address, deputy minister for roads and highways, Isaac Adjei Mensah revealed that the Ghana Road Fund which is supposed to take care of the country’s road maintenance needs falls short of its expectation by forty percent.
Speaking to A1 News, Prof. Mohammed Salifu who is a member of the Ghana Road Fund Board said the Road Fund levy on petrol which currently stands at 6 pesewas per liter was fixed in 2005 and is no longer sufficient. He therefore proposed that the levy be increased to 20 pesewas per liter.
Prof. Salifu also supported the call for LPG used as fuel for cars to be levied and the proceeds, used to support the Ghana road fund.
 Upper East Regional Minister, Dr. Ephraim Avea Nsoh promised to do his best as political head of the region, to maintain as many roads as possible in the region.
By: Albert Sore | A1radioonline.com | Ghana
