Editorial
Reintroduction of road toll and matters arising
● Reopening of toll booths should not cause congestion
The Finance Minister, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, presenting the 2022 budget in Parliament, announced the government’s decision to abolish road tolls, citing the “inconveniences” the toll booths were causing.
He said at the time that though money was needed to fix deplorable roads in the country, the setup of toll booths had led to congestion as it involved more “human intervention processes.”
This congestion, Mr. Ofori-Atta said, affected productivity negatively, while the booths became unhealthy market centres, lengthening travel time from one place to the other and polluted the vicinities where these tollboths were situated.
Due to the above mentioned challenges, the government abolished the collection of toll, effective November 18, 2021. Some reports however suggest that the abolishing of tolls had caused the government to lose over GH¢200 million, a substantial amount which could have constructed and maintained some roads.
Sixteen months after the cancellation of the tolls, the Ministry of Roads and Highway has announced the re-introduction of same.
I personally applaud the decision, as it will help generate funds to fix some bad roads. But in bringing back the toll, what measures has the government put in place to ensure that the “challenges” that led to its abolishment do not rear their ugly heads again?
I hope that as the toll collection leads to increase in revenue, the government will replace human beings with automated machines, as indicated by Mr Osei Kyei Mensah Bonsu, the Majority Leader in Parliament.
This, I believe, can solve the many inconveniences that came with the collection of the tolls. As to whether hawkers will stop hawking around toll booths, that is another thing for the government to critically look at.
Evelyn Naadu Borquaye,
Pentecost University,
Accra.
Editorial
Kudos to Ho Teaching Hospital staff, but …
Dear Editor,
If there is any group of professionals that get bad-mouthed the most, then you are referring to nurses and medical doctors assigned to public hospitals across the country.
For this particular letter, I want to sing the praises of this same group of professionals that work at the Ho Teaching Hospital, famously known as Trafalgar.
Despite the work load and the mass casualties received at the emergency ward of the hospital, the welcoming nature of the nurses and the professional touch by the doctors can’t be ignored. My personal experience has got me travelling from my base in Accra to seek medical services from these professionals.
Special mention has to be made of the likes of Precious of the Pharmacy Department, Dr Brandon Banor (a maxillofacial resident) of the Dental unit, male nurse Justice assigned to the female surgical ward. Words cannot really do justice to their affable, professional caring nature. A simple thank you is all that I can say.
In the same vein, I can’t but call out the bad attitude of the auxiliary staff and contractors of the hospital.
Chief among them is some of the contracted bank staff that handle the payment section of the hospital and the patient registration section (those that check the status of the patient as to whether they are fee paying patients or NHIS sponsored).
The attitude at times leaves a bad taste in the mouth. One such occurrence was a night staff of the registration section who had her legs on the office table whilst talking to patients.
The CEO of the hospital needs to shine his torch light on this support sections before they erode the awesome performance of the direct medical staff of the hospital.
Thank you for the space.
Kwesi Manu
Accra
Editorial
Develop policies to address disability concerns
Dear Editor,
AT the beginning of the year, when I went to the bank to deposit money into my uncle’s account, I observed a very sad situation where a man in a wheelchair struggled to navigate his way around the facility.
This is because the structure is disability unfriendly.
As I stood and watched how the man struggled to move his wheelchair, I felt sad and wondered if this is how the life of a disabled person should be. It becomes worse if there is no one to offer help.
In Ghana, People With Disabilities (PWDs) are often treated differently and are often subjected to all forms of discrimination.
Most of these people find themselves in such a situation as a result of unfortunate happenings such as accidents and injuries.
It is, therefore, not appropriate for anyone to discriminate against them. Discrimination against such persons take many forms, including how buildings are constructed.
Most of the public structures are not disability friendly and impede their movement.
As a country, we should consider the PWDs in designing our structures. I also think that there should be a national policy that seeks to address this issue.
I have a strong conviction that when such a policy is developed by the government, people with disabilities would feel appreciated and also promote social inclusivity.
Ray,
Kasoa
