The Supreme Court has dismissed a petition by two students of the University of Ghana over the authorities’ decision to charge road tolls.
The Justices of the court indicated that they had no jurisdiction over issues concerning taxes, adding that the authority lies with Parliament which had the power to pass such Acts.
The two, Ernest Victor Apau and Musah Mustapha, per their reliefs, were asking the court to perpetually restrain the University and its agents from charging motorists who ply the university’s routes, citing a violation of Article 174 (1) of the 1992 Constitution which requires the approval of Parliament before any sort of taxes are collected.
A Human Rights Court in Accra had earlier dismissed a similar case brought against the University by some parents of pupils at the University of Ghana Primary School.
They were praying the court to compel the University to suspend it’s decision to close all access routes into the school.
Background
The University of Ghana closed all access routes into its campus to the public with the exception of the entrance from the Okponglo intersection.
The closure was announced after the school was forced to suspend its tolling system which generated public outcry leading to the destruction of one of its toll booth by national security operatives.
Subsequently, only vehicles with the 2014 UG sticker were allowed to enter and exit the school through all the access routes.
Source: citifmonline.com
