National Mandatory towing levy is a 'robbery law' - Abronye DC
The Brong Ahafo Regional Youth Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Baffoe Abronye has described the suspended mandatory national towing levy as a “robbery law” that parliament wanted to foist on the Ghanaian citizenry.
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According to the maverick politician, he would quit his position in the ruling party and also fraternise with a different political party if the government approves the implementation of the mandatory towing levy.
He was of the view that the mandatory levy would only bring hardship on the Ghanaian citizenry, particularly vehicle owners.
Kwame Baffoe Abronye, who is known popularly as ‘Abronye DC’ made the remarks on Monday morning on Accra-based Okay FM in reaction to government’s decision to suspend the implementation of the mandatory towing levy which was to come into effect on September 1, 2017.
Background
The parliamentary Committee on Roads and Transport on Monday, July 31, 2017 recommended to the government to go ahead with the contract it signed with a private company for the towing of broken-down and abandoned vehicles on the roads.
The government, acting through the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC), signed the agreement with the Road Safety Management Services Limited (RSMSL) in October 2016 for the towing of break-down and abandoned vehicles.
The roadmap for the implementation of the project is contained in the Road Traffic Regulation, 2012 (L.I. 2180).
Levies
Abronye DC said road worthy and road safety levies that vehicle owners are made to pay to the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) could be used to ensure that broken down vehicles are towed off the roads.
The outspoken politician who threatened to quit his position and leave the party said “the government does not want us to leave the party”.
In addition, he said, the government was a listening government and that it would not engage in policies that many Ghanaians have expressed concerns about.
Abronye DC, however, suggested that now that the government has decided to discontinue with the implementation of the mandatory towing levy, the government could make a law to mandate every vehicle owner to tow his or her broken down vehicle within two hours.
He explained that there were so many alternative ways that the government could use to solve the problem of broken down vehicles on our roads.
He added that elsewhere, there are laws to ensure that vehicle owners tow their broken down vehicles off the roads within an hour or the government would tow such vehicles and charge the culprits accordingly.
Abronye DC opined that it was not necessary for the government to make the towing levy compulsory for all vehicle owners, saying that it would have robbed vehicle owners of their limited resources.
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