Joseph Siaw Agyapong, owner of the Road Safety Management limited(RSML), a subsidiary of the Jospong group has denied allegations that the company influenced parliament to pass the law supporting the controversial tow levy, to accrue unwarranted profits.
He says RSML had no hand in the decision of the House to pass the law which grants his company a 20-year monopoly over the towing of vehicles in the country, stressing all are invited to join in the business because his prime interest is the removal of abandoned vehicles that cause accidents on our roads.
"I am inviting all Ghanaians and anyone who is interested to take equity of the contract and jointly operate and own the road safety management limited (RSML)", He said in an interview on JoyFM.
Read also:Â Transport Ministry considering public sentiment on towing levy
Mr Agyapong explained that he only sent a proposal to the government after realizing that disabled trucks on the road caused a lot of accidents, adding that Jospong bought its own tow trucks in 2011 and went ahead to make it available to the police at no cost to remove broken down vehicles from the road.
The Roads and Transport Committee of Parliament gave approval for the implementation of the controversial mandatory towing levy to be imposed on vehicle owners.
The law which was to take effect July 1, 2017, was suspended to enable the Transport Ministry to hold stakeholders engagements, following the massive public disapproval it received.
As part of the law, vehicle owners and motorcyclists will pay compulsory annual fees, tied to the acquisition of road worthy certificate, to cater for towing services. Fees for both commercial and non-commercial vehicles, depending on tonnage, range from GHC 20 to GHC 100.
Government is yet to make a final decision on the implementation of the policy which gives a 20-year monopoly to the service provider Road Safety Management Limited (RSML), a subsidiary of the Jospong Group.
Read also:Â RSML and partners to make $1 billion from towing contract
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