The Ministry of Energy is to revise the street lighting levy which has remained at 50 old Ghana pesewas or GH¢ 0'.005 since 1995. According to Dr Alfred Ofosu Ahenkorah, Executive Secretary of the Energy Commission, there was the need for an urgent revision by which consumers would pay a percentage of bills as street lighting levy to be collected and accounted for in the areas of jurisdiction of the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies. The tariffs for energy consumption by lighting, he said, would soon be set by the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission. He was speaking at a workshop on the policy framework on street lighting in Ghana, for Chief Executives of Assemblies, here on Tuesday. Dr. Ahenkorah said the provision of street lighting facilities had been the responsibility of the assemblies and the communities, but the weak financial base of the assemblies as well as the inadequate and, in a lot of cases, unavailable technical capacity of the local authorities, led to the deterioration of street lighting facilities over the years. "Haphazard uncoordinated, unguided installation and operation of street lights, and lack of adequate developmental, regulatory and operational framework on street lights over the years has rendered their continuous expansion untenable", he said. He lamented the lack of clear ownership, operation and maintenance regime for street lights, as well as the technical capacity at the local level to ensure reliable operation and adequate maintenance of street lights, inadequacy of funds for the payment of energy consumed by street lights and for its maintenance. He also mentioned lack of a comprehensive regulatory framework, technical standards and specifications and manual for street lighting, and efficient mechanism to prevent vandalism, damage and theft. The ministry had, therefore, come out with the policy framework to achieve universal access to street lighting infrastructure, developed, owned, operated and maintained on a sustainable basis. Dr. Ahenkorah said the funding for street lighting projects would come from the street lighting levy and not the Assemblies Common Fund. However, the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning would provide financial resources for the government initiated street lighting projects, while the Ministry of Roads and Highway would assist the Energy and Local Government Ministries to develop a systematic national programme for street lighting.