Mary Alirah, a 15 year old graduate of the Pwalugu Junior High School who helps her mother hawk onions at the Pwalugu toll booth is unhappy about the current downward economic fortunes of hawkers in the area.
Interacting with the A1 News Team who visited the area almost 4 weeks after the cessation of tolls, Miss Alirah explained that she used to sell up to 200 GHC worth of onions for her mother due to the congestion of cars at the booth. Now, she explained that she considered it a very good day if she is even able sell up to 60 GHC worth of onions in a day.
She said while a few private vehicles stop, most of the public and commercial transport vehicles do not stop, thus the huge reduction in sales. Other hawkers who also spoke to the A1 Radio News Team said before the suspension of the collection of tolls, a big bag of onions could be sold in less than five days. Now, the hawkers say it takes them sometimes over a week to sell the same quantity of onion.
Miss Alirah, unsure what the current situation holds for herself, her family as well as her education called on government to quickly intervene in the matter.
Meanwhile, hawkers at the Pwalugu Tollbooth in Talensi in the Upper East Region say the government’s suggestion for them to move from the various toll booths and ‘setup shop’ in the various markets is not feasible. The hawkers explained that the suggestion was unfair and not well-thought through.
Background
The Minister for Roads and Highways Kwasi Amoako-Attah issued a directive to stop the collection of road tolls on public roads and bridges. The directive which followed the presentation of the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy by the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, takes effect from 12 am, Thursday, November 18, 2021.
Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways Member of Parliament (MP) for Afigya Sekyere East, Stephen Pambiin Jalulah said the decision by the Ministry of Roads and Highway to immediately cease the collection of road tolls on public roads and bridges was to prevent unnecessary altercations between roads users and toll booth attendants.
Mr. Jalulah said information reached the Ministry after the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Atta, read the 2022 Economic Policy and Budget Statement that some vehicle operators forced their way through the barriers despite warnings by attendants that the abolition of the road tolls had not kicked in.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Private Transport Union (GPRTU) has disclosed that vehicle operators in the country came together to moot the idea to cease the collection of road tolls on public roads and bridges. The GPRTU said in a meeting with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Transport in June early this year, the unions suggested the move to government as a measure to stop revenue leakage.
The General Secretary of GPRTU Godfred Abulbire, speaking to Samuel Mbura on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show explained that the Unions met the Parliamentary Select Committee to address the many concerns of road crashes on the Accra-Kumasi Highway.
A1Radioonline.com|101.1MHz| Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith | Ghana
