We’ll resist towing levy – COPEC

Executive Secretary of the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers (COPEC), Duncan Amoah has criticised Parliament for approving the controversial mandatory road safety levy.

According to Mr Amoah, COPEC will resist any attempt to forcefully implement the levy without recourse to relevant stakeholders.

The implementation of the levy was met with stiff resistance in June this year compelling Parliament to refer the Legislative Instrument to the Committee on Roads and Transport of the House.

The Committee said it is satisfied with the content of the bill which is expected to commence on 1 September 2017.

But speaking to Class News, Mr Amoah said the concerns of Ghanaians were not taken into consideration in approving the levy.

Mr Amoah said: “Let us put on record that no one is against towing in the country. … Vehicles are towed in the country even as we speak today so it is nothing new…it is the approach that we’ve had issues with. Unfortunately, somebody went to pass the law, has gone back and come back with everything that they had already passed which the public had spoken against.

“The same committee (Transport Committee in Parliament) has come back with the same recommendation, nothing whatsoever has been modified, and nothing has changed. Let us put on record that we’ll resist it not for the mischief of it but for the actual reasons for which we want our roads to be safe, this road tow will end up defeating it all together.

“Why do we say this? Nobody has been invited to any hearing; none of the alternatives that we had proposed has been packaged into anything. What rather we have been told is if they decide to abrogate this, there will be a judgment debt because they have signed some arrangement with Road Safety Management Services Limited and so this will have to be carried through amid the challenges that we have identified.

In contrast, the Road Safety Management Services Limited, the consulting firm tasked with the responsibility to undertake the project, has welcomed Parliament’s decision.

Marketing and Communications Manager for the company, Mr Roland Walker told Class News: “From Road Safety Management Services, this is welcome news.”