The Sunday Mail
Over the coming weeks, 10 new tollgates will be erected on the country’s major highways as Government moves in to augment funds for road infrastructure maintenance.
Toll gates in Zimbabwe
Statutory Instrument 39, Toll Roads (Road Network) Regulations (2009), is scheduled to be amended and gazetted this week to facilitate construction of these structures.
The tollgates will be erected on the Harare-Beitbridge, Harare-Chirundu (Karoi), Harare-Bindura-Mt Darwin, Chivhu–Nyazura (Magamba), Mutare–Masvingo (Dewure) and Masvingo-Beitbridge (Mwenezi Growth Point) roads.
Other highways are Bulawayo-Beitbridge (Collen Bawn), Mutare-Masvingo (Lothian), Ngundu-Tanganda (Triangle) and Victoria Falls-Kazungula (Kazungula).
This exercise will bring the number of tollgates on the Harare-Beitbridge road to six while the Harare-Chirundu, Bulawayo-Beitbridge and Mutare-Masvingo roads will now have three each.
Light vehicles, mini-buses, long chasis buses and haulage trucks pay US$2, US$3, US$4 and US$10 respectively when passing each tollgate.
Therefore, truckers travelling between Harare and Beitbridge will have to fork out US$60 per trip once the structures are erected.
In addition, the Statutory Instrument, whose Draft has been seen by this publication, will also compel drivers who live within a 10km radius from tollgates to pay fixed monthly fees of US$10.
Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Dr Obert Mpofu confirmed the developments.
“Yes, about 10 tollgates are set to be gazetted (this week). That is all I can say for now.”
Zimbabwe Institute of Rural and Urban Planners’ president, Mr Percy Toriro said though tollgates raised funds for road maintenance, Government should space them appropriately.
“Although it is a noble idea – because of the revenue that they bring in – there is need for the tollgates to be spaced in a way that will not burden and frustrate motorists at the end of the day,” he said.
Government introduced tollgates in 2009 to raise highway maintenance funds and about US$360 million has been collected to date.
Zimbabwe has 26 tollgates, with 30 more expected by year-end.
Some of them will be in urban areas.
Introduction of additional tollgates has previously angered motorists who felt there was lack of transparency in the system and tangible road maintenance.
Mrs Pertunia Mupuranga – a Harare motorist – implored authorities to engender transparency.
“It is not a bad idea given the state of our roads, but we have heard of cases of mismanagement of funds in the sector,” she said.
“Therefore, Government should monitor the funds so that they are used to maintain our roads and not otherwise.”
South Africa also uses tollgates to raise funds for road infrastructure maintainenance, with an estimated R6 billion raised annually from the system.
However, of late there have been an outcry from motorists who are saying the system is frustrating.
There are eight tollgates between Johannesburg and Pretoria.
