President John Mahama has announced plans to reintroduce road tolls in a more efficient and digitalised manner as part of his government’s agenda.

Speaking at the 9th Ghana CEO Summit and Awards Expo, the president explained that the system would not rely on physical toll booths but on technology to make seamless payments, which will not disrupt other road users.

“We’ve said in our manifesto that we are going to reintroduce road tolls,” President Mahama said. “And so they’ve been talking about what the modality should be and all that.”

He noted that with the current link between every vehicle and its owner's Ghana Card, toll collection can now be automated.

“We don’t need to have the old toll gates and those cards that you stand and open and all that,” he said. “We will just go straight, digitalised.”

Using the East Legon bridge as an example, the president suggested a simple payment model.

“If it’s 1 cedi each, if you cross the East Legon bridge, the governor and finance minister will all be happy,” he explained. “We just take a picture of your car, and then it will send the bill to your mobile money or your bank account, and you just pay 1 cedi, only 1 cedi.”

In November 2021, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government halted the collection of road and bridge tolls, citing traffic congestion.

The current NDC government has announced plans to introduce it again, but this time through a digitalised system aimed at reducing human involvement and enhancing efficiency.