Director of Licensing at the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority, Cheyuo Wienaa Musah has described as premature, public sentiments over the mandatory vehicle towing levy. 

The Ministry of Transportation after series of stakeholder engagements on Monday, following persistent public disapproval of the policy, announced suspension of the implementation date until adequate consultations had been done.

The levy which was originally scheduled to take off July 1, 2017, was proposed as part of measures to reduce road carnage by towing off broken down vehicles left on roads. 

The DVLA, which was to collect the revenue, was also to collaborate with Ghana Police Service are to ensure such disabled vehicles are cleared off the road.

Although Mr. Musah admitted on ‘The Pulse’ on JoyNews channel on Multi TV Tuesday, that the proposed mode of implementation was problematic, he blamed the negative publicity for the suspension of the levy.

He said the public backlash the initiative received was largely due to misunderstanding of the concept rather than problems associated with the proposed mode implementation.
 
“I’m sad about the arguments people are making about this towing levy because they did not understand. The communication strategy was just [about] being rolled out and let people get to understand why this levy was going to be collected,” he told host of the programme, Gifty Andoh Appiah.

The DVLA is facing challenges rolling out reforms including introduction of new driver license cards and making its services accessible online. 

Despite their inability to provide timelines, Mr. Musah said the Authority remains optimistic and have already explored measures for data protection.

Click audio attached to listen to Mr. Musah speaking on The Pulse: