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Dr Obert Mpofu

THERE have been mixed reactions to government’s decision to hike tollgate fees by 100 percent with motorists and other road users decrying the move which will see them forking out more to use the country’s roads. In a Statutory Instrument published in the Government Gazette on Friday, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Dr Obert Mpofu announced the increase with private motorists now required to pay $2 up from $1, while haulage trucks will pay $10 up from $5.

The toll fees increase, the first since tollgates were introduced in 2009, will see minibuses paying $3 up from $2.
Buses will now be required to pay $4 up from $3, while heavy vehicles will pay $5 up from $4. Government has justified the increase, saying it needed to raise money to rehabilitate the country’s roads.

Speaking to Chronicle last month, Dr Mpofu said the fee increase would result in better roads in the long run. He said government was currently collecting $40 million annually from tollgates, which is far too little to quicken the national road rehabilitation programme.

“We’re not collecting much in terms of toll fees. Less than $40 million is realised per year and the country needs far much more than that to make meaningful improvements to our road network, which is in a poor state,” said Dr Mpofu. “There’s need for motorists to pay a little more money to enable the government to raise funds to rehabilitate the roads and infrastructure.”

The minister could not immediately provide figures of how much the government required to fully implement its road rehabilitation programme but said Zimbabwe was charging the least toll fees in the southern region.

“If you compare Zimbabwe’s toll fees with neighbouring countries, you’ll find that we’re charging the least fees. Road networks in other countries are perfect due to the amount of toll fees that are charged there. We’ve to do the same,” said Dr Mpofu.

Neighbouring South Africa charges between 60 and 250 rand, depending on the size of the vehicle and the tollgate. Dr Mpofu said his ministry would ensure transparency and put in place measures to make sure that the public funds are not abused. We sympathise with motorists and the travelling public who will now have to bear the burden of increased costs of moving from point to another but at the same time we understand government’s precarious financial position which has necessitated the latest tollgate fee hike.

Public transport operators have said the move by government could lead to an increase in bus fares and we feel this is inevitable. But it is also an open secret that government does not have money for infrastructure rehabilitation and development with roads, rail and other key amenities requiring complete overhaul and needing billions of dollars to spruce up.

Tolling is a worldwide phenomenon which governments use to raise money to maintain and upgrade road infrastructure. Zimbabwe’s roads bore the brunt of years of neglect and today they badly need to be rehabilitated and the money has to come from somewhere. It is unfortunate that motorists will have to carry the can for the rehabilitation of roads but given the liquidity crunch, it is reasonable for government to raise money through tollgates. Clearly, the $40 million collected annually from tollgate fees is not enough to maintain the country’s roads. At the same time, government should not expect to rely solely on money collected from tollgates to fund its infrastructure rehabilitation and maintenance.

It can enter into Build Operate and Transfer arrangements with foreign companies which can build and rehabilitate our roads and then hand them over to government after a prescribed period.  The BOT was successfully implemented for the recently commissioned New Limpopo Bridge which was handed over to government last month. The 350km Beitbridge-Bulawayo railway line is also being refurbished under the same scheme. It is a win-win situation and we feel that can also apply to our roads.

In the meantime, the public expects to see an improvement in the road network following the latest round of tollgate fees hike. Government should ensure that the money collected from the tollgates is used for its intended purpose and not to line the pockets of greedy and corrupt officials.