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Debra Matabvu
Sunday Mail Reporter
Urban motorists have something to smile about amid revelations that Government has temporarily shelved its plan to introduce toll gates within cities.
Information gathered by The Sunday Mail shows that Government is prioritising rehabilitation of major highways, including construction of state-of-art toll plazas and revamping existing urban and rural roads.
While Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Development, Dr Joram Gumbo could not shed much on the suspension of the urban tollgate programme, he said Government was concentrating on revamping the country’s road network.
“At the moment, there are other issues that we are prioritizing and we have not been focusing much on that issue (introducing toll gates in urban areas) and we are not talking about it at the moment,” he said.
Reliable sources within the ministry told this publication that the urban toll gates had been temporarily halted.
“Urban tollgates are not a priority at the moment as we are focusing on other issues such as dualisation of major roads and construction of the recently introduced tollgates in highways,” said a source.
“There are 10 more tollgates that will be added soon (on major highways) but there will be no urban tollgates.
“One also has to appreciate that urban tolling is a very sensitive issue. lmagine erecting a tollgate between the CBD and Glen Norah, there will be an outcry, it has to be handled with care.”
The suspension of urban tollgates also comes after Government secured a $30 million road equipment loan from Belarus that will help in the rehabilitation and construction of roads in the country’s second largest city.
The facility is set to benefit urban and rural authorities such as the District Development Fund and the Department of Roads and Rural District Councils.
Last year, Government indicated that it was going to introduce 30 more tollgates, with some of them in urban areas.
To date, 10 tollgates have been approved with implementation already underway.
Government is also finalizing sites for the remaining toll gates with 10 likely to be approved during the last half of the year.
The plan to erect urban toll gates was mooted in 2013. Sections of Samora Machel Avenue and Airport Road in Harare had already been identified for the structures.
Urban tollgates are meant to raise funds for road construction, rehabilitation and ensure that motorists pay vehicle licences.
Government introduced the road toll system in 2009 and about US$360 million has been collected to date.
Of this, US$29 million has been disbursed to local authorities for road repairs and construction in their jurisdictions.
However, motorists feel that there is lack of transparency in the system and tangible road maintenance.
Transport expert and lecturer in the Transport Planning Department at the University of Zimbabwe, Mr Smart Dumba said the suspension of the construction of urban toll gates is a noble idea.
“There is need for proper planning when introducing urban tolling, especially if it is e-tolling. There is need for due diligence when it comes to that issue,” he said.
“It will also come as a reprieve to motorists who are struggling to pay licenses fees, import duties and fuel levies.
“There is need for Government to look at the issue of affordability and make sure that the number of toll gates in a major roads will not cause public transport operators to hike fares.
Countries such as South Africa have been using toll gates to raise funds for road infrastructure maintenance with an estimated R6 billion being raised annually.
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