The Ministry of Roads and Highways (MRH) has clarified the controversy surrounding the conversion of toll booths to urinals in the country.

In a statement on February 16, the Head of the Public Affairs Unit, Nasir Ahmad Yartey, stated that contrary to information in the public domain, the Ministry does not intend to convert the toll booths facilities to urinals.

According to him, the plan is rather to create urinals and other facilities where the toll booths are located.

"The Ministry of Roads and Highways (MRH) has noted with much concern various discussions on the proposals recently put out by the Hon. Minister for Roads and Highways, Hon. Kwasi Amoako-Attah (MP), concerning the alternative use of toll booth locations across the country, following the Government's recent policy of suspending the collection of tolls.

It is important to restate that the reference by the Hon. Minister was to the thirty eight (38) toll booth locations and not the toll booths themselves, which are well over one hundred (100) in number. It has become necessary to clarify this position to set the records straight. Therefore, the public is advised to ignore the gross misrepresentation of the Minister in his quest to provide information to the public about the government's plans to find alternative uses for the thirty-eight (38) toll booth locations with over 100 toll booths across the country", portions of the statement read.

It will be recalled that the Roads Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Attah, was reported to have said that processes are underway to convert abandoned toll booths into washrooms in various parts of the country.

According to the Minister, the move is to ensure the cessation of the practice whereby commuters and drivers ease themselves by the roadside. The Minister reportedly made this revelation after officials of the National Roads Safety Authority (NRSA) appealed to the Ministry to remove the various toll booths if government has no alternate use for them.

Interacting with the media after the meeting with the NRSA officials, Mr Amoako-Attah explained that it is also to address the washroom deficit on the various highways in the country.

“The government will refurbish all those tollbooth structures to provide proper and decent washrooms, for use by motorists. So that we advise them to desist from the practice that you see, that at times cars stop indiscriminately on the highway and people are getting out to wee-wee as we usually say it. You see men on the left and women on the right [urinating]. Look, it’s all indecent, it’s not a good practice”, he stressed.

The comments by the Minister subsequently sparked an outrage from a section of the public, who described the policy as untenable.

But according to the Ministry, the critics had it wrong, as they couldn't understand what the Minister was implying.

"To give the context, the Minister for Roads and Highways was providing clarification to the media on the issue after a meeting with road contractor associations on contractor re-classification and the inauguration of a committee to help control the nuisance of dropping concrete on our roads by ready-mixed concrete producers.

In that interview, the question of the removal of toll booths along our roads was asked against the backdrop of the Government's policy of suspension of tolling across the country.

In addressing the question, the Hon. Minister indicated that the Ministry had plans to put the toll booth locations throughout the country to alternative uses considering the changing trends. These proposals were advanced by the operators of the toll locations, Toll and Routes Management Ltd., against the backdrop of the government's decision not to lay off the workers at the toll locations. It should be important to emphasize that at each toll booth location in the country, apart from the toll booths, there are ancillary structures such as offices, urinals and other facilities which complement the collection of the tolls", the statement explained.

The Ministry also added that all of such facilities will "be incorporated into the ministry's programme to dualize the major highways in the country, such as the Accra-Kumasi Road, the Accra-Takoradi Road, and the Tema-Aflao Roads".