Tollgate upgrades programme underway

Michael Makuza, Business Reporter

GOVERNMENT has said plans are underway to upgrade all toll-gates across the country and making them uniform in line with the modern standard set on those along the Plumtree-Mutare Highway.

Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Felix Mhona, said this during a question-and-answer session in Parliament where he admitted that some of the tollgates were in a state of disrepair.

“Government policy is that we want uniform tollgates. We want them to be uniform so that they are similar to the Plumtree to Mutare Highway,” he said.

“The current tollgates are in disrepair and not in good condition. We are going to eliminate them one by one as we replace them with the plaza tollgates.

“Let me promise that the new tollgates that we are constructing are the new type called plaza tollgates.”

The Zimbabwe National Road Administration (Zinara) has already indicated that $7 billion has been set aside to finance the repair of all tollgates as part of its efforts to plug revenue leakages and improve efficiency.

Most tollgates across the country had been subject to lax systems resulting in some errant motorists passing through without paying toll fees including delays at few access points. Minister Mhona said a budget for the upgrading of toll-gates should be considered and factored in in the national budget so as to attend to tollgates in rural areas.

“When we sit down to deliberate on the annual national budget, we need to have a budget for our tollgates. We have a number of tollgates that were in residential areas and these tollgates are being moved outside residential areas to the peripheries of towns,” he said.

“As a ministry, we are through with the designs. I believe that as time goes on, and when the budget is available, we will need to continue working on these tollgates so that we fulfil that promise.”

According to Zinara toll fees collection processes gobble about 18-30 percent of the total revenue, a somewhat high figure, hence efforts to introduce the e-tolling facility.