Stephen P. Jalulah, Deputy Minister of Roads and Highways, insists that collection of tolls on roads across the country remain suspended until further notice.
This comes after the Speaker of Parliament cautioned the Roads Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, who unilaterally suspended the collection of tolls from 12.00 am on Thursday, November 18, following the announcement that road and bridge tolls were to be suspended.
The Speaker said in Parliament on Thursday that, the Minister who is also Member of Parliament for Atiwa West acted wrongly by issuing that command.
“These are policy proposals that the Minister of Finance has presented to the House. Until they are approved nobody has the authority to start implementing something that doesn’t exist.
“Does [the road minister’s order] amount to a disrespect of the House? That is where I may differ.
“The Minister of Roads and Highways, because this is not a court of law, might have misunderstood or misapplied the law and so it is for us to draw his attention and tell him that you have no such authority. In spite of all the legal and linguistic gymnastics that have been displayed, it is very clear that what the minister sought to do he had no such authority to do that.
“I want to clearly direct that what the Minister has released is complete Brutum Fulmen, it means it is an empty boast, it has no effect and therefore I call on him to honourably withdraw that directive. Failure to do so will be a serious breach of the directive of the speaker and that would amount to contempt of parliament.
“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 on him to reverse this decision,” he ruled.
But speaking to Joy FM, the Deputy Roads and Highways Minister explained the statement from the Ministry was an administrative procedure to forestall any confusion, following the announcement by the Finance Minister.
“So as of now, until further notice, we are not taking tolls at our toll stations across the country,” Jalulah said.
Meanwhile, the Road and Highways Ministry has also collaborated the narrative that, the suspension of the tolls was to forestall any confusion.
In a statement issued on Thursday evening by the PR Unit, the ministry stated categorically that, after the Finance Minister’s announcement of the abolishment of the toll, some motorists misunderstood the announcement and engaged in fisticuffs with toll booth operators.
So, in order to stop this from degenerating, the statement said, the ministry issued the earlier directive ordering the suspension of the collection.
“It was to avert further unfortunate incidents that the ministry intervened by issuing the directive,” portions of the statement clarifying the earlier directive said.
Toll booth
