Fuel hiccups blamed for dip in toll fees

Ellen Chasokela Herald Reporter
Intertoll Zimbabwe has confirmed that the number of vehicles passing through the Norton tollgate has significantly declined due to a number of issues including fuel and economic challenges.

Intertoll Zimbabwe is a company contracted to collect toll fees on behalf of the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) from the nine tollgates it operates on the rehabilitated Plumtree-Mutare Highway.

Latest statistics from the Norton tollgate show that in December 2018 there was an average of 6 509 vehicles per day compared to May 2019 where the average number of vehicles dropped to 5 288 per day.

Last year the traffic chart for all the nine Intertoll-operated tollgates recorded 1 072 531 vehicles in June compared to 954 277 vehicles in May this year. Speaking to members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development, yesterday at the Norton tollgate, Intertoll Zimbabwe country operations manager Mr Joseph Mafanuke said. “There has been a reduction in the number of vehicles passing through our tollgates per day and I assume it is because of fuel issues. “We record the highest number of vehicles in November and December because of the holidays. In January this year we had an average of 4 358, February 4 939, March 5 080, April 5 751 and 5 288 in May.

“The decrease in January and February is because holidays will be over and people would have exhausted their money so they would not be travelling that much. The increase in April was because of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF),’’ he said. Mr Mafanuke said the revenue collected was always kept in a safe place to prevent theft. “Once a shift ends the toll collectors bring their money into the cash office and once they are inside no one is allowed to go outside until the counting process is finished and they produce reports to check if there are any shortages. Once finished we keep the money in the safe then in the morning there are cash- in-transit vehicles which collect the money. “To make sure that no one tampers with the safe, the cash-in-transit officers have one key and we have the other key, so none of us can open the safe without the other,” he said.