Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Hon Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, says the government will review existing road tolls and align them with current market rates to ensure improvement on the roads.
That, he said, would form part of the framework for promoting burden sharing as government sought to transform the road and infrastructure sector in a post-COVID era.
Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, also the Caretaker Finance Minister, said this on Friday when he presented the 2021 Budget Statement and Economic Policy, on the theme: “Consolidated, Completion and Continuation” titled W)N YA W) HI33, in Ga, to wit “We are moving Forward Budget.”
He said in 2021, government would also amend the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2018 (Act 983) that governed the setting of Rates and Tolls to accommodate an automatic annual adjustment that would be pegged at 2020’s average annual inflation.
This year, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) would intensify audits and institute measures to recover all outstanding debts and enforce collections in the extractive industry, he said.
The Minster said a study of the downstream petroleum sector showed there was still the challenge of under-reporting and evasion of taxes by some industry players.
He said the GRA, in conjunction with the relevant agencies, would mount a campaign to deal with the unlawful acts.
Mr Kyei Mensah-Bonsu said data showed that under the Akufo-Addo Government the increase in petroleum prices was the lowest in the Fourth Republic.
“In the year 2020 for example, there was a cumulative net decrease in petrol prices at the pump by 7.46 percent and diesel by 9.53 percent, between 2009 and 2012 average petrol prices increased by 29.5 percent annually,” he said.
He said between 2013 and 2016, average petrol prices increased by 24 percent annually but between 2017 and 2020, the average petrol prices increased was at 8.26 percent annually.
Government to roll-out National Rental Assistance Scheme
Government also in partnership with the private sector will provide seed money of GH¢100 million to commence the establishment of a National Rental Assistance Scheme.
The scheme will use the additional investment from the private sector to provide low-interest loans to eligible Ghanaians to enable them to pay rent advance and ease the accommodation challenges in the country.
Mr Kyei-Mensah- Bonsu said the initiative was part of the government’s new reforms to enhance the quality of life of Ghanaians, support domestic entrepreneurs and businesses, and deepen access to public services.
He said other initiatives were the National Equipment Leasing Policy, the Transport Sector Recapitalization Project and the Enhanced Student Loan Scheme.
The Minister explained that the leasing policy would cover medical equipment, vehicles, photocopiers, printers, and scanners, among others as part of measures to efficiently manage the capital expenditure budget.
Under the transport sector recapitalization project, Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said the government would work towards the implementation of a long term Lease-to-Own financing arrangement for commercial vehicle owners and operators who needed to replace aged and un-roadworthy commercial vehicles.
On the student loan scheme, he said the government would commence planning towards the implementation of the Scheme to provide students, except for teacher and nurse trainees, an option to obtain a student loan without the requirement of a guarantor.
The prospective student must have a National Identification Number from the GhanaCard, he added.
Source: mypublisher24.com