Tollbooth-Washroom Brouhaha: Roads Minister Amoako Atta explains himself

The Minister of Roads and Highways, Kwesi Amoako-Atta has denied claims he suggested the conversion of tollbooths into public urinals. According to him, the comment attributed to him was taken out of context as only a portion of his interview was published.

The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwasi Amoako-Attah in a response to an appeal by the National Roads Safety Authority for abandoned tollbooths across the country to be demolished, said plans are far advanced for their conversion to public washrooms.

“We even want to refurbish all tollbooth structures to provide proper and decent washrooms for the use by motorists so that we advised them to desist from that practise where sometimes you see cars stopping on the highway and people getting down to wee-wee as we usually see,” he said in the interview with journalists.

But facing a huge backlash from the populace, the Roads Minister has made a U-turn saying his earlier comments to the press have been taken out of context.

Speaking on the floor of parliament on Tuesday, February 9, 2022, Mr Amoako Attah said: “In our programme, we said that going forward we want to refurbish the tollbooth that is at the toll booth centres where we have offices attached and we even have washrooms, we are going to improve upon them and other things we want to do to modernize the tollbooths centre. The primary aim and objective for doing that are to advise road users and commercial drivers that if passengers decide to use the washroom some of which already exist, we will make them available so that instead of people easing themselves at the roadside which we all know is an eyesore, they would resort to the refurbished washrooms to be used and I think it’s a laudable idea among others.”

The Minister of Roads and Highways directed the immediate cessation of toll collections across the country, effective midnight on Thursday, November 18, 2021, on the back of the government’s plan as announced in the 2022 Budget to Parliament to scrap tolls on all public roads.

Following this, toll booths have ceased to operate yet the structures remain on the roads.

Source: thenewsroomonline