President of the Ghana Online Drivers Union, Francis Kweku Tengey, has advised the government to invest in electronic vehicles.

This way, there would be no need to tax vehicle owners for emissions from the exhaust pipes.

According to him, to make the environment clean and devoid of pollution, the situation must be tackled from the roots rather than through reactive mechanisms.

Speaking on JoyFM’s Top Story on February 1, he asked; “Who allows these old vehicles to be imported? We should tackle all these things from that angle. We keep allowing old vehicles into the system. Cars that are already 20 years old and have been rejected come into the country and then they emit carbon dioxide. 

“At the end of the day, we are being asked to pay some money. We should tackle the whole problem from the roots, at the end of the day, it will be okay,” he said. 

He stressed that electric vehicles would solve the problem and prevent the public from spending excessively on taxes.

"If you want to do electric vehicles, this is the sure way to go. We have also discovered lithium in Ghana. It is a beautiful thing. Let us invest in these e-vehicles and we will solve the problem rather than taxing the people and taking levies, too much money. The taxes we are paying are too much and there is so much burden on us," he added.

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) announced the commencement of the implementation of the Emissions Levy Act, 2023 (Act 1112) on Thursday, February 1, 2024.

• Read also: Implementation of Emissions Levy Act begins today

According to the GRA, the Act will impose a levy on carbon dioxide equivalent emissions on internal combustion engine vehicles. The GRA emphasised that the move aligns with the government's commitment to addressing greenhouse gas emissions.

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