The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has asked the Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako Atta, to overturn the decision to stop road toll payments.
On Thursday, November 18, the Speaker said in Parliament that the Minister, who is also a Member of Parliament for Atiwa West, behaved incorrectly in giving the instruction.
“I think that it is proper for us to direct the minister, a member of this house, in fact, a senior member of this house, I think that he might have acted wrongly and therefore I call him to reverse this decision,” he ruled.
Mr. Kwasi Amoako-Atta instructed the stoppage of toll collection on public highways and bridges on Wednesday, November 17, with effect on Thursday, November 18, after the elimination of tolls announced by Finance Minister Ken Ofori Atta in the 2022 budget statement.
The order will go into effect at 12:00 a.m. Thursday, according to a press statement published a few hours after the announcement by the Minister of Finance.
“Motorists are kindly advised to approach the locations with caution and observe all safety measures that will be put in place,” the press release said.
However, during a debate on the House floor on Thursday, Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu questioned the Minister’s authority to give this instruction while the budget had not been approved by Parliament.
Kwame Agbodza, a legislator from Adaklu, backed Mr. Iddrisu’s argument.
Mr. Agbodza said “It is quite clear that the Minister sidestepped parliament by pretending that he as a minister, not even the finance minister, has the right to waive taxes in this country. My senior colleague the road minister is a lawyer and a very experienced one. I submit that this action is not mere action.
“To make it quite serious, on Tuesday Mr. Speaker, your Committee on Roads and Transport met and invited the minister of roads and transport to work on a referral which is to build the road between Manfe and Koforidua. At that meeting, I asked the Ministry representative where the minister was. The response they gave me was the Minister was on an official trip with the president
The Minister should have understood that he lacked such authority.
In any case, he was not in the jurisdiction. So, Mr. Speaker, we want you to direct that the Minister has no such powers to waive the payment of charges in this country except Parliament. Mr. Speaker direct that the Minister rescind his decision, if he so wishes he should present that to parliament.”
For his part, Samuel Atta Akyea, Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, backed the Minister, stating he did not disrespect Parliament or the law by issuing the directive when the budget had not been approved.
He said “Even in the Supreme Court, with the greatest of respect Mr. Speaker, sometimes there is a misreading of the law which does not amount to the fact that the law lords are disrespecting the law. So at such a time that we we made that distinction, we cannot attribute to the honorable Minister for Roads and Highways he is disrespecting the law.”
He added, “Probably, with the greatest of respect, this could be an administrative error which should not be, It happens.”
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