Parliament is likely to reduce the 85 percent shares allocated to the company proposed to operate the mandatory road towing levy. This is the indication from the Chairman of the Select Committee on Roads and Transport, Samuel Ayeh-Paye. According to him, the cost analysis of the operator needs to be adjusted to give a fair share to all stakeholders in the process.
“The operator taking 85 percent with the remaining 15 percent being shared among the other stakeholders has to be relooked at. The operator must come again with its cost analysis and if it is tangible, we can look at the percentages,” the MP for Ayensuano told Citi Business News.
The mandatory towing levy initially scheduled to come off on July 1, 2017, had to be suspended after heavy backlash from the public. The National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) has asserted that the implementation of the levy would reduce the spate of crashes into stationery vehicles.
The Transport Minister ordered the suspension and urged Parliament to review the Legislative Instrument guiding the formulation of the policy. The Roads and Transport Committee Chairman also suggested a flat rate scheme to be paid by all vehicle owners.
This, he said will operate like any other insurance policy where benefits or claim are entitled to the extent of damage during a crash. “We are looking at the number of vehicles that we have, I think we can charge 5 cedis across the board irrespective of the size of the vehicle.
For all insurance policies, we all pay the same premium but if I am using a car with an engine of 2.0 and it is involved in an accident, it is the extent of damage that will show how much I will get. So I think there must be a flat rate for all vehicles to pay,” he added.
Though Mr. Aryeh-Paye could not readily disclose when the policy is going to be reintroduced, he stressed the need for the National Road Safety Commission to intensify education among the public to allow for a smooth take off upon resumption.
“The NRSC in my view did not conduct enough education before introducing the policy that is why it had that backlash. So I think that when the review is done and the government gives the greenlight to start, we must take time to educate the stakeholders especially the transport unions and the ordinary Ghanaian on the street which the policy is going to benefit the more.”
