Lutterodt against tow levy scrap

Road Safety Ambassador, George Lutterodt, has questioned the authenticity of the government’s letter announcing the cancellation of the compulsory towing levy in the country.

According to him, the letter has no reference number and also contains grammatical errors, a development that raises doubt about the credibility of the letter.

His comments come on the heels of the decision by the government to cancel the mandatory towing levy after a section of Ghanaians strongly opposed its implementation.

The policy would have imposed a mandatory fee on all vehicle owners in the country.

This was to help a towing company tow broken-down vehicles from the roads across the country to help ensure traffic safety and reduce accidents.

A statement from the Transport Ministry announcing the cancellation of the contract said: “The government has decided not to implement the mandatory towing levy which was scheduled to have commenced on 1 July 2017.

“This follows extensive consultation between the Minister of Transport and stakeholders in the transport sector.”

The statement signed by Transport Minister, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, noted that: “Upon consultations consequent to the calls, government has decided to seek a review of parts of the laws specifically to achieve the following objective: removal from the law, the concept of a mandatory towing levy on all owners and persons in charge of motor vehicles and trailers.”

Speaking in an interview with Paa Kwasi Parker-Wilson on Ghana Yensom on Accra 100.5FM on Monday, Mr. Lutterodt said: “This letter is not even credible because it has no reference number. Per administrative producers, letters of this kind should have reference numbers so that we can easily trace it. Now we can’t authenticate this letter.

“If it is true that the government has cancelled this program then it is a bad decision because we need that service to remove all damaged vehicles on our roads.”