Ghana Ends Road Tolls and Asks If It Was the Right Call
In late 2024, the government of Ghana announced the immediate abolition of all road tolls, ending a system that had defined highway travel for over two decades. Drivers who once idled at queues stretching back hundreds of metres now glide through former toll plazas without paying a cedi. The shift was framed as relief for ordinary commuters and traders.
The decision did not arrive in a vacuum. For years, road users had complained about crumbling surfaces, opaque toll receipts, and the steady drain of vehicle maintenance costs. Officials argued the policy would ease pressure on households already grappling with inflation. Sceptics countered that scrapping tolls without a clear replacement would hollow out the road fund that kept major highways in service.
News of the abolition travelled quickly through diaspora networks, including Ghanaians reading updates from Sydney, Melbourne, and beyond. In Australia, where toll road debates around WestConnex and Citylink are a familiar headache, observers saw echoes of arguments playing out in Accra. The local angle gives the policy a kind of cross-continental resonance.
A Brief History of Toll Collection in Ghana
Toll plazas once dotted the major arteries of the country, from the Accra–Kumasi highway to the Accra–Tema motorway and the northern trunk road. Drivers paid between two and ten cedis depending on vehicle class, and foreign trucks crossing into neighbouring states paid higher rates. The funds were meant to feed a dedicated road account managed by the Ghana Highway Authority.
Over time, the system became deeply unpopular. Long queues at the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange wasted fuel and time. Smuggling of cash collections, political patronage in toll leadership, and repeated maintenance failures eroded public confidence. By 2023, even some government insiders admitted the network cost more to operate than it raised in clean revenue.
The Day the Tolls Came Down
The abolition came wrapped inside a broader budget address, with the Finance Minister casting it as a pro-poor reform. Workers at toll booths were redeployed or sent home, and within weeks contractors began dismantling the familiar canopies. Videos of the work spread quickly across X, TikTok, and WhatsApp, drawing both cheers and raised eyebrows.
Public mood was initially buoyant. Hashtags celebrating the move trended for days, and roadside vendors near former plazas handed out drinks to passing motorists. Within a month, however, road contractors started issuing notices about suspended maintenance schedules, and analysts warned of an annual revenue shortfall north of half a billion cedis.
Comparing the Old and New Arrangements
| Feature | Before Abolition | After Abolition |
|---|---|---|
| Tolls collected | At 36+ plazas nationwide | None on roads |
| Daily revenue | Roughly GH₵ 1.2 million | GH₵ 0 direct |
| Funding sources | Tolls, fuel levy, vehicle fees | Fuel levy, budget allocations |
| Driver cost per trip | GH₵ 2–10 | GH₵ 0 at booths |
| Worker headcount | Thousands | Mostly redeployed |
| Maintenance outlook | Patchy but funded | Uncertain |
The table captures the structural break. Ghana has not abandoned road-related revenue altogether. The fuel levy already built into petrol prices, alongside central budget transfers, is now expected to shoulder the burden. Whether that arrangement can actually keep the highways sealed and pothole-free is the question dividing policymakers and commuters alike.
What Drivers Are Saying a Few Months In
Commuters interviewed in Accra, Kumasi, and Tamale have welcomed the change. Several trotro drivers reported shaving twenty to thirty minutes off trips that once stalled at the Apedwa or Nsawam plazas. Market traders ferrying tomatoes and plantains say the absence of booth stops has reduced spoilage and lifted their daily margins.
Business owners remain more cautious. Long-distance haulage firms have voiced concerns that, without dedicated road funding, highways will deteriorate faster. The Ghana Private Road Transport Union has pressed the government to publish clear budgets showing how the fuel levy is being redirected, arguing that drivers deserve a fair go when it comes to accountability.
Paying for Roads Without Tolls
Maintaining a 23,000-kilometre national road network is no small task. Patching potholes, resurfacing worn sections, and building new interchanges demand steady cash flow. Critics of the abolition point out that tolls, even with their flaws, offered a predictable revenue stream tied directly to the number of vehicles using a road.
The government has signalled that a portion of the fuel levy will be ring-fenced, and the Roads Minister has hinted at a petroleum-backed bond to fund priority projects through 2026. Some economists, meanwhile, push for reforms such as weight-based charges on heavy trucks or modest kilometre-based levies that more fairly reflect road use.
International Lessons and the Australian Angle
For many Australians, this debate will ring familiar. Sydney motorists pay tolls on the M2, M7, and WestConnex, and Melbourne drivers continue to wrestle with Citylink charges. Whenever an Australian government tweaks tolling, the same tensions surface: immediate relief for regular commuters against the hard maths of infrastructure financing. Ghana's experience, watched from a flat in Parramatta or a café in Brisbane, mirrors that ongoing tug-of-war.
The framing of such reforms also matters in how the story travels beyond national borders. Regional press coverage of similar shifts elsewhere on the continent tends to highlight both the political theatre and the underlying fiscal logic. Back in Accra the cultural calendar continues to capture global attention, and the latest look at the Ghanaian fashion scene shows the country's creative engines keep turning even when economic headlines dominate.
Building a Sustainable Road Funding Path
Analysts have floated a range of practical steps to keep the highways funded and the policy sustainable:
- Lock the fuel levy into a legally protected road fund so the money cannot be quietly diverted
- Publish quarterly public reports showing every cedi collected and every cedi spent
- Tie a small share of vehicle insurance premiums to maintenance of major highways
- Encourage public–private partnerships for new interchanges, similar to the WestConnex model used in Sydney
- Pilot modest congestion pricing in central Accra and Kumasi to manage traffic while raising fresh funds
Each option carries trade-offs. A protected fund limits leakage but restricts how the broader budget can flex. Insurance tie-ins spread costs but may nudge premiums upward. Public–private partnerships can deliver infrastructure faster, though users may pay for the speed through higher fees down the line.
The abolition of Ghana's road tolls was always designed to win hearts, and on that front it succeeded. The harder, longer work lies ahead: keeping asphalt sealed, paying contractors on time, and convincing taxpayers that the new model delivers better roads than the old one. Ghanaians will judge the reform less by the dismantled booths and more by the highways they drive on a year from now. Subscribe to OkayGH.com for daily Ghanaian politics, culture, business, and music straight to your inbox.