The country is expected to lose GHc7 million for the remaining of the year due to the cancellation of the collection of road tolls.

Ghana is projected to raise about GHC78 million annually from road tolls.

Ken Ofori-Atta, Minister of Finance, who disclosed this during a press conference on the 2022 budget in Accra last week, said the decision to stop the collection of road tolls was to facilitate a faster movement of people and goods.

He explained that the traffic generated at the tollbooths across the country informed the decision of the government to stop the payment of road tolls by drivers.

The gridlock created at the road tollbooths, Mr Ofori-Atta, said was seriously affecting the productivity of workers as it made workers to report to work late and tired.

According to the Minister staying long in traffic caused stress which affected the output of workers.

“The cancellation of the collection of road tolls will bring relief to commuters and workers as they will not be delayed on the road,” Mr Ofori-Atta, said.

The Minister of Finance indicated that the gridlocks at the various toll booths also contributed to the pollution of the environment as the cars jammed in traffic emitted a lot of fumes.

Mr Ofori-Atta when questioned whether the termination of the collection of road tolls would not affect the government revenue projection for 2021, responded in the negative.

According to him, the cancellation of the collection of road tolls would not substantially affect government revenue projections for the 2021 fiscal year.

“The question is not about the termination of the collection of road toll, but the opportunity cost of maintaining it,” Mr Ofori-Atta said.

The Minister of Finance presenting the 2020 budget statement and economic policy of government to Parliament on November 17, announced the cancellation of the collection of road tolls.

In replacement of the road tolls, the Ministry announced the introduction of Electronic Transactions Levy (E-Levy) to generate more revenue for the 2022 fiscal year.

The introduction of the E-Levy was projected to raise about GH6.9 billion into government coffers next year.

The Minority in Parliament described the cancellation of the collection of road tolls by the Minister of Finance in the 2022 budget as illegal since the move did not get  Parliamentary approval.

But the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Atta, said the government had cancelled the collection of road tolls and no abrogation of the operation of road tolls in the country.