Saturday 17 June 2017

Instead Of Rejecting It Should We Not Have A National Conversation About A Replacement For The Annual Towing Fees?

It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

A classic example of that wise saying is the  outcry by the motoring public against being compelled  to pay an annual fee for vehicle towing services in the event  of breakdowns on public highways.

That such a good idea has resulted in widespread condemnation and caused such outrage across the country, obviously results from the lack of proper prior consultation with all stakeholders by officialdom, when the idea was first mooted.

Clearly, most Ghanaians resent the socialisation of private risk  that the current public private partnership  (PPP) business model adopted for a laudable road safety initiative amounts to, in their view.

Many feel that the power of the Leviathan that is the Ghanaian nation-state is being abused to rip them off - and that is proof positive that prior consultation with stakeholders by officialdfom wasn't nearly comprehensive enough.

This blog's humble view, is that the private sector entities contracted to implement the initiative, should go back to the drawing board and design a  detailed package of additional useful services provided for those paying the mandatory fees annually.

To help them see the kind of additional services they can provide to give value for money to motorists paying the annual towing service fees, we have culled a webpage from the website of the Automobile Association of the UK (AA), as a business model companies such as Road Safety Management Services Limited can replicate in Ghana too.

The clincher is to offer 24/7 roadside repairs as part of the bouquet  of services the compulsory annual fee buys for motorists.

Then the public will see that compulsory annual fee as good value for money - as  it provides peace of mind knowing that if they should suffer a breakdown during a long journey, regardless of the time of day, it will be fixed for them: having paid the now much-resented annual towing fee.

Above all,  we do hope it will help the motoring public to see the advantages of paying an annual fee not only for towing services, but for the availability of round-the-clock  roadside vehicle repairs nationwide, should their vehicle suffer a breakdown during a long journey, at a point nowhere near their final destination.

In any case this is our widow's mite contribution to kick-starting a national conversation about private-sector entities offering the motoring public a bouquet of services like those offered by the Automobile Association of the UK, in return for payments of mandatory  annual fees for same.

Please read on:

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End of culled content from the website of the Automobile Association of the UK.

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