Digital road tolls in the offing – President Mahama

President John Mahama plans to reintroduce road tolls. This will be done in a more efficient and digital way.

He spoke at the 9th Ghana CEO Summit and Awards Expo. The new system will not use physical toll booths. Instead, it will rely on technology for seamless payments.

“We’ve said in our manifesto that we are going to reintroduce road tolls,” President Mahama stated. He mentioned discussions about how this should work.

With every vehicle linked to its owner's Ghana Card, toll collection can be automated. “We don’t need the old toll gates,” he added. “We will just go straight, digitalised.”

The president used the East Legon bridge as an example. He suggested a simple payment model of 1 cedi per crossing.

“If you cross the East Legon bridge, everyone will be happy,” he explained. A picture of your car would be taken, sending a bill to your mobile money or bank account.

In November 2021, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government stopped collecting road and bridge tolls due to traffic congestion.

Now, the current NDC government plans to reintroduce them digitally. This aims to reduce human involvement and improve efficiency.