The Minister for Roads and Highways, Governs Kwame Agbodza, has said the government was revising regulations to increase the penalty for overloaded trucks from GH¢5,000 to GH¢50,000.

The minister described the current fine as too low to serve as a deterrent to offenders.

Speaking in an interview with GTV on Monday, January 26, Mr Agbodza said the existing maximum penalty does not reflect the cost of damage caused to roads by overloaded vehicles.

“You cannot have a penalty of GH¢5,000 when the damage you are doing is GH¢50,000. You have to increase the penalty,” he said.

The minister explained that the current axle load enforcement regime applies graduated penalties based on how much a vehicle exceeds the legal weight limit.

He said fines rise as overloading increases, but added that even the highest penalty under the present system fails to discourage the practice.

“The penalty is not a deterrent. The cost of the penalty is lower than the cost of overloading,” Mr Agbodza said.

He said the government is revising the legislative instrument governing axle load control to allow for a higher penalty.

“We are revising the instrument so that the penalty will be GH¢50,000,” he said.

Mr Agbodza also said tougher measures are being considered for repeat offenders, including the seizure of vehicles used to breach the law.

“If you are a repeat offender, we will confiscate the vehicle. We are going to make it tough,” he said.

The Roads and Highways Ministry has repeatedly identified overloading as a major cause of rapid road deterioration, arguing that the practice accelerates pavement failure and increases maintenance costs.