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It’s been a while since I last wrote to you for reasons beyond my control. Our dear country has been plunged into the worst load shedding I have ever witnessed since I was born, and it has accounted to my inability to write to you because I have no lights most of the time when I go home from work.

However, I am not writing to you to talk about ‘DUM-SOR’ today, but to make you aware of how millions of cedis pass through the hands of “certain” people unaccounted for. If these moneys are being accounted for, then I am sorry to say myself and a good number of Ghanaian citizens are not aware of how these monies are accounted for or how much we receive or if we receive it at all. We will talk about ‘DUM-SOR’ again sometime soon and I hope you remember what I told you in my article “I WILL TELL THE BIG – what Ghana needs is a ministry of common sense, not ministry of power.” Those words still hold true and indeed after that article the ‘DUM-SOR’ has even become worse.

 The Tema Motorway according to a myjoyonline.com news report in 2014 is used by some 30,000 cars. A year on, one can safely assume that the number of cars that ply that route have increased. The cars that use that route also pay various amounts of money as toll with some being as high as GHC 7.00. There are over ten different tollbooth stations in Ghana on several roads and though the number of cars that use those routes may not be as high as the users of the Tema motorway, a significant amount of cars use those roads.

ROAD TOLL MATHEMATICS!

When travelling from Accra to Kumasi, you are expected to pay money at not less than two toll booth stations and upon the completion of the Suhum road too, another toll booth will be placed on the road raising the number to three if not more. For the purpose of this article, let us assume there are just ten tollbooth stations in Ghana, let us also assume each has a vehicle population of about 20,000 daily, and let us further assume that all these tollbooths charge vehicles a flat rate of GHC 1.00 per usage. This will mean each toll booth will give us GHC 20,000.00 everyday. So in the whole country, we are expected to make not less than GHC 200,000.00 everyday from road tolls alone.

Now let us assume that each tollbooth station employs ten people to collect tolls at each toll booth station and each of these people is paid GHC 2000.00, this will mean the salary of those who take the toll should be around GHC 200,000.00 which is equivalent to the money they make in a day.  Now we further assume the tickets costs GHC 500,000.00 monthly which is highly impossible, so in all operation costs will be paid from money collected in four days. This leaves us with twenty six days if we assume there are only thirty days in a month. If my math is right, then we make around GHC 5,200,000.00 every month from road tolls alone in Ghana. Surprisingly, this figure is not so different from what the Minister of Roads and Highways in 2011 Hon. Joe Gidisu put out before parliament in that year (2011) a year after the increases in the prices of road tolls in Ghana was announced by the Prez. J.E.A. Mills led government. The minister according to a Daily Guide reportage in July 2011 which is on the Modern Ghana news website claimed road toll had given Ghana GHC 52.9 million after a year of the price increase. My figures from my own assumptions indicate that that every month we make GHC 5,200,000.00 which means in ten months, we make around GC 52 million.

WHERE IS THE MONEY?

Now let us forget about all this maths and focus on the real issue. Where is the money? After almost five years since the over 1000 percent (%) increase in road tolls in Ghana, the Suhum-Nsawam-Kumasi road has not been completed, the Tema motor way has not received any major face lift, the Ofankor-Nsawam road has not received any major facelift, the Legon-Madina road has not been completed, the Eastern Corridor road has also not been completed. So this begs the question where is the money?

After almost five years of government receiving all these amounts of money, what can our government really pin-point as its achievement after utilizing the money from the road tolls.

MORE MATHEMATICS

After 5 years, by my assumptions, our government should have received not less than GHC 260,000,000.00 from road tolls alone in Ghana and should have been put to some good use by now. According to a myjoyonline report in August 2012 when the N1 was commissioned, it was believed the project cost some 55.7 million dollars. Also according to the MCA website, the lot 1 which is from Tetteh Quarshie to Apenkwa which was to be done by the China Railway Wuju Corporation was to cost 42.1 million dollars. However I do not know whether the figures they put out was before the period for completion was revised to 20 months or not.  But going by the myjoyonline figures, at current exchange rates, we should be completing an additional two new N1 (George Bush) type highways by now if we put the money from the road tolls to good use.

If anyone in Ghana knows where two N1 type highways are being completed, they should let me know ASAP, because for me I have not yet seen them. Several roads in Ghana are in bad shape as I write this and I can’t help but ask again WHERE IS THE MONEY?

 

Until I write to you again, good bye for now.                                                                                                  

The Author Albert Opare is a political science graduate from the University of Ghana and a social commentator as well as a social & political activist. He is also a freelance writer. You can contact the author by mail on [email protected] or txt on 0247125101. Comments and Criticisms are welcome.