Mr. Frimpong, the former coordinator from Ashanti region has called for the arrest of the Roads and Highway Minister over the decision to abolish toll booth system in the country.
On Thursday, the Minister of Roads and High ordered the cessation of road toll effective after the declaration of the 2022 Budget announced by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
A statement signed by the Minister said personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service will be on hand to provide security at the toll locations.
However according to a Former Ashanti Regional Transport Union Coordinator Amankwah Frimpong, the Minister’s sudden directive was a total affront to the country’s constitution, and amounted to financial loss to the state.
He insists that the budget which was meant for next year should have been given parliamentary approval before any action could be considered.
Speaking to Kojo Marfo on Kumasi-based Abusua FM, Mr. Frimpong explains that since the directive took effect government has not put any other plan to rake in money while waiting for the implementation of the E-levy.
He believes the step has caused the state to lose huge sums of money within approximately the last 48 hours.
He said “I think the Minister should be invited by the Special prosecutor for causing financial loss to the state if the tollbooths were still operational government would have been getting money whilst waiting for the E-levy to commence but now we are just losing a lot of money because of this decision. The Minister also disrespected our country’s laws by not waiting for the initiative to be approved by Parliament before implementation.”
He contends the Minister’s directive and described it as a misplaced priority, saying if the government had reduced fuel prices that would have helped many people instead of just scrapping tolls on roads.
Mr. Frimpong also called out the media for not taking drastic steps to question duty bearers over some irresponsible decisions.
He states that the Minister should have been fearlessly criticized and questioned by the media for taking such a populace approach.
He says he will be disappointed in the media if it continues to be lenient towards government appointees.
The Former Transport Coordinator also admonishes government officials to respect the ordinary people by not always imposing decisions on them.
