Gov’t yet to decide on tow tax implementation

Government is awaiting the report of Parliament’s Committee on Road and Transport before taking a decision on the controversial tow tax.

The mandatory levy for vehicle users to tow broken down vehicles was suspended last month after pressure from the public and civil society.

It is unclear when the report of the committee would be ready.

After briefing Parliament on what had become of the implementation process, Transport Minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah told Citi News’ Duke Mensah Opoku that further consultations will be held before a decision on the two tax is made.

“We are waiting for the report from the parliamentary select committee and based on that we will take a decision on the matter. The process has began but we are having challenges with the implementation so we are consulting further,” he said.

Suspension of implementation tow tax

Government had plans of implementing the tow tax but subsequently suspended it after after the Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament met with the Road Safety Commission, the DVLA and other stakeholders over the matter.

The Ranking Member on the Committee, Kwame Agbodza had explained that the committee wants to probe the issues surrounding the implementation and possibly recommend the recall of the Legislative Instrument supporting the fee.

Some MPs including the Deputy Minority Leader, James Avedzi Klutse, had earlier called for the policy to be scrapped following these reactions. But Osei Owusu said the critics lack understanding of the issue.

Prior to the suspension, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joe Osei-Owusu, had described as narrow-minded, arguments against the mandatory towing fee.

In a Citi News interview, Mr. Osei-Owusu however argued that, the policy is in the supreme interest of road users after research showed that a huge number of road accidents are caused by broken down vehicles.

The NRSC was expected to begin a nationwide towing programme in July 2017, to ensure that all vehicles that breakdown on highways were cleared off the roads.

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By; Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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Government is awaiting the report of Parliament’s Committee on Road and Transport before taking a decision on the controversial tow tax. The mandatory levy for vehicle users to tow broken down vehicles was suspended last month after pressure from the public and civil society. It is unclear when the report of the committee would be ... Read Full Story