Tow levy was senseless – Kwaku Asare

The compulsory towing levy passed by Ghana’s Parliament was meaningless, Kwaku Asare, a US-based Ghanaian professor, has said.

According to him, the cancellation of the towing levy by the government is an indication the passage of that levy by the legislature was pointless.

Government announced the cancellation of the levy on Sunday, 20 August 2017 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.”

Commenting on this development on his Facebook page on Monday, Prof Asare said: “Now that the executive has refused to enforce the senseless tow levy, it is time to question how it managed to meet the approval of our 275 highly paid MPs.

“I prefer Parliament to avoid passing senseless laws to the executive failing to enforce such laws.”