The Deputy Minority \u00a0Leader, James Avedzi Klutse, has backed calls for the implementation of a mandatory vehicle towing fee to be halted.<\/p>\n
The collection of the controversial road safety fee, which is expected to take effect in June, has received widespread backlash from Ghanaians.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”zdw2FzvOFn32kRvuSyA8LSyzhjo3LDl8″]The National Road Safety Commission had argued that the intended move is geared towards reducing the risk of road users running into stationery vehicles; a trend which is responsible for almost 20% of road accidents.<\/p>\n
But Mr. Avedzi in an interview with Citi News’<\/strong> Duke Mensah Opoku, suggested that, the move should be suspended, since the\u00a0“genuine and good citizens will be paying for recalcitrant citizens who do not want to obey the law.”<\/p>\n “If it gets to the implementation and everybody is against it then it should be withdrawn,” he added.<\/p>\n Under the new levy, drivers will be required to pay a road safety fee, ranging between GHC 10 and GHC 200, in addition to their road worthy certification fees.<\/p>\n Commercial vehicles and taxes will pay GH\u00a240, mini buses will pay GH\u00a280, while heavy duty trucks will pay between GH\u00a280 and GH\u00a2200 annually, depending on their tonnage.<\/p>\n Non-commercial vehicles are expected to pay GH\u00a220.<\/p>\n The Road Safety Management Services Limited (RSMSL) has already acquired some 118 trucks ahead of the implementation, for the exercise.<\/p>\n Suspend towing fees; it\u2019s total rip off \u2013 Engineer to gov\u2019t\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. Avedzi is not the only one who has expressed concerns about he intended implementation. Several other stakeholders have also criticized the move and asked government to suspend\u00a0the idea.<\/p>\n