Online Reporter
IN December 2021, Dr George Manyaya was appointed board chairman of the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA). Under his leadership, ZINARA has achieved several milestones, including enhanced financial accountability, increased disbursements to road authorities, and strengthened governance frameworks. Zimpapers Politics Hub’s Kuda Bwititi had a wide ranging interview with Dr Manyaya, to establish how Zinara has been operating since his appointment. Read the excerpts of the interview . . .
Question: When you started your term three years ago, you outlined your vision. Kindly give us an update on achievements attained so far and challenges faced.
Answer: I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Second Republic, under the leadership of His Excellency, President Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa, for championing the parastatal reform programme that brought in a new leadership team at ZINARA. This transformation ushered in a board and management team dedicated to ensuring that ZINARA fulfills its core mandate of collecting and disbursing road funds transparently and efficiently.
Our journey began in the aftermath of a forensic audit that resulted in over 70 recommendations from the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Addressing these issues was no small task and this saw us appearing in Parliament for a record number of times. It was not all rosy. It was a challenging process, but we remained resolute in our commitment to implementing reforms that would restore confidence in ZINARA. I would also like to extend my sincere appreciation to our Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Honourable Felix Mhona for his wise guidance and support.
What are some of the issues that Minister Mhona asked your board to prioritise?
Answer: From the outset, Minister Mhona underlined the importance of continuously upholding good corporate governance principles as outlined in the Public Entities and Corporate Governance Act. Good governance begins with establishing strong systems and processes that guide our operations, ensuring accountability at every level. As such, the Honourable Minister highlighted critical touch points that we have been seized over the last three years.
Some of these issues include reducing corruption and abuse of office whilst complying with all the statutes and policy regulations. At the same time, we have been working to ease congestion at tollgates by improving infrastructure and implementing efficient traffic management strategies. Strengthening the capacity of road authorities has also been a priority, as we seek to enhance our disbursements and service delivery across the country. Furthermore, digitisation of our operations and reducing by-passes has been one of our key focus areas aligning our efforts with Statutory Instrument 250 of 2021, which makes it an offence to bypass a tollgate within a one-kilometre radius.
What strategies did you adopt to achieve your vision?
Answer: During our first strategic planning session ZINARA adopted the 4-factor strategic pillars of Integrity, Capacitation, Engagement and Automation (ICEA).
It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the entire ZINARA team for their collective effort in achieving our goals. Through teamwork and dedication, everyone is aligned with our new culture and expectations, driving our continued success. Over the past years, ZINARA has turned around and proven to all that it is possible to be a transparent and financially stable state entity that contributes positively to national development.
Please explain how improvements were made in financial management at ZINARA?
Answer: According to the key performance indicators for 2024, ZINARA’s improved operational efficiency saw it collecting ZW$6,6 billion, an equivalent of US$346,3 million over the past year, contributing effectively to Government projects. ZINARA also demonstrated strong financial and governance performance over the past year. While licensing fees fell short at ZW$2,375 billion against a budget of ZW$7,2 billion, tolling fees exceeded expectations, bringing in ZW$2,8 billion compared to the projected ZW$2,4 billion.
Fuel levies also performed well, generating ZW$727 million against a budget of ZW$710 million, while transit fees came close to the target at ZW$552 million against ZW$580 million.
On governance, ZINARA achieved a historic milestone by securing its first-ever clean audit for the 2023 financial statements which is a significant turnaround in accountability and transparency. The organisation achieved a 67 percent cure rate on the Auditor General’s 2023 report to management, the highest in the public sector for the year. These achievements reflect ZINARA’s ongoing transformation into a financially stable and well-governed institution.
For many years, ZINARA’s finances have been bogged down by the repayment of the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) loan. What is the position regarding this loan?
Answer: The DBSA loan was a significant topic of discussion and relations with financial institutions were strained. However, ZINARA played a crucial role in restoring Zimbabwe’s image to international financial institutions by regularising loan arrears and successfully restructuring the loan in 2021. Through prudent financial management, ZINARA reduced the loan balance from US$165 million in December 2020 to a manageable US$42 million by December 2024, freeing up funds for current road projects. We have also successfully negotiated a lower interest rate, reducing it from 8,16 percent in 2020 to 5 percent under the restructured terms.
What does the regularisation of your DBSA loan mean to Zimbabwe?
Answer: This achievement is not only significant for ZINARA but also for the nation as a whole. As part of the Government’s re-engagement process, clearing financial obligations is critical to attracting investment and securing future funding. This demonstrates the New Dispensation’s commitment to financial stability and responsible debt management, enabling Government entities to access similar funding opportunities. Furthermore, ZINARA has successfully accessed funding from various local institutions to support ongoing road rehabilitation projects, ensuring continued infrastructure development across the country.
When you took over, ZINARA had a lot of outstanding AGMs. How did you address this anomaly?
Answer: Indeed, when we took over, outstanding AGMs dated back over five years. We want to thank the support we have received from the Office of the President and Cabinet through the Corporate Governance Unit (CGU) who have held our hand ever since we commenced this restructuring, and we are now in full compliance with key governing Acts and Regulations.
ZINARA was among the first State-owned enterprises to comply with Corporate Governance guidelines, successfully clearing all outstanding Annual General Meetings and regularising its position in 2024. By the end of the year, historical legacy issues on key contracts were resolved and renegotiated with assistance from the Procurement Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (PRAZ).
We understand ZINARA had some issues with the Grant Thornton Forensic Audit Report and recommendations made by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Accounts and Transport and Infrastructural Development. What is the update?
Answer: Substantial progress was made in implementing recommendations from the Grant Thornton forensic audit report, as well as addressing concerns raised by the Parliamentary Committees on Transport and Public Accounts. During our appearance before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at the end of 2024, we reported that out of 71 identified governance issues, 66 had been fully resolved, while the remaining issues, which are beyond our direct control, were being addressed by the relevant stakeholders.
How did you pull this off?
Answer: We made sure that all policies and procedures which are the bedrock of good governance environment were fully entrenched by the end of 2021 and continuously reviewed through up to 2024 to ensure alignment with best practices. The organisation adopted automation and digitisation of procurement processes through the adoption of technology, including the rollout of the e-Procurement System (EGP). A 100 percent compliance with the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Act for the year ending December 2024 was achieved.
The Whole of Government Approach has been very helpful. We engaged the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and the Prosecutor General’s Office and the partnership has been effective in detecting and preventing crime. ZINARA became the first State Entity to establish a working Integrity Committee, as guided by ZACC, and proceeded to be one of the first State Entity to sign integrity pledges before the Commission.
Road users have complained of congestion and/ or delays at tollgates. How are you tackling this?
Answer: In line with the NDS1’s key priority of the digital economy, we deployed ICT-led processes at tollgates, including the deployment of leakage detection equipment (CCTVs) at all revenue collection points by 2022. This has resulted in the elimination of congestion at tollgates and brought order to the motoring public though we still need to improve on this aspect.
Still on tollgates, how far have you gone in redeploying some of the tollgates, especially those in the middle of residential areas?
Answer: ZINARA has begun relocating tollgates to address urban expansion challenges, minimise revenue losses from toll evasion, and enhance motorist convenience. Many tollgates had become embedded within residential areas due to the growth of new suburbs, prompting the need for relocation.
What are you doing in terms of improving tollgate infrastructure?
Answer: As part of this initiative, traditional tollgates are being replaced with modern toll plazas featuring six lanes to improve traffic flow and customer experience. Notable progress has been made at the Dema and Norton tollgates, with further work planned throughout the year. To ensure uninterrupted operations, ZINARA has introduced a three-tier backup power system at all tollgates. Further, tollgates have been transformed into vehicle licensing points, allowing motorists to license their vehicles at any time, both in person and online.
On e-tolling, while the initial procurement tender was cancelled due to budget constraints, ZINARA has begun implementing a hybrid system with e-tags and express lanes. The pilot phase started with exempted motorists, such as Members of Parliament, and is now expanding to prepaid individuals and corporate clients as part of a broader rollout.
How has ZINARA improved revenue collection for tolling and licensing fees?
Answer: ZINARA has fully embraced technology to enhance revenue collection efficiency. In 2022, the organisation successfully revived its enterprise-wide Reporting Programme, SAP, and operationalised it on January 1, 2023. This strategic move, along with significant enhancements in the revenue collection system, have led to improved tolling and licensing fee collections, contributing to cumulative growth through 2024.
Give us an overview of ZINARA disbursements to road authorities in 2024 and other support for road rehabilitation.
Answer: Significant support was given to the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Program (ERRP2). We have been working with our parent Ministry and the Ministry of Finance and Investment Promotion and I must say we have disbursed significantly towards most emotional road projects across the country. Following a successful turnaround, Zinara has been able to disburse the USD equivalent of
$224, 9 million in 2024 pivoting the country towards accelerated road rehabilitation and maintenance. Added to that we supported the Ministry of Transport Infrastructural Development and the Ministry of Finance and Investment Promotion to rehabilitate several roads ahead of the SADC Summit hosted by Zimbabwe last year.
How has been your relationship with some of your key stakeholders, especially road authorities who are the direct beneficiaries of disbursements?
Answer: As ZINARA, we improved engagement with road authorities and our technical department also embarked on an upskilling project for road authorities’ engineers through quarterly training workshops. Consequently, for 2024, road authorities accessed 90 percent of their budget allocations, a first in many years. For the first time, Zinara introduced a fuel disbursement programme, allocating over 1,9 million litres of fuel to road authorities.
This initiative addressed a critical operational challenge, enabling authorities to use their own equipment for roads, contributing to a significant improvement in the scope and quality of road maintenance works. The year 2024 marked a giant leap towards Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030, with road authorities achieving 122 percent of their planned works. A total of 37 000km of roads were maintained, surpassing the previous year’s achievement of 30 000km.
This sounds quite encouraging, so what are your plans for 2025?
Answer: Looking ahead, ZINARA has proposed a budget of ZWG 11,6 billion for financial disbursements in 2025, along with an additional 2 million litres of fuel to support road maintenance activities. The organisation will continue to provide technical support through refresher training programmes and the deployment of provincial engineers to assist road authorities in project implementation. The achievements of 2024 reflect our hard work towards supporting our road authorities and we remain committed to maintaining this momentum in 2025 and beyond, ensuring that Zimbabwe’s road infrastructure continues to improve and support economic growth.
In general, are you happy with the state of the country’s roads and what more are you willing to do to intervene, as ZINARA?
Answer: We have to say it; the road network system had been neglected for decades and the roads were in bad shape. With the ushering in of the New Dispensation, His Excellency, the President, Dr ED Mnangagwa then declared the Emergency Road Rehabilitation Programme 2 (ERRP2).
As ZINARA we have taken this seriously and have had to come in to compliment Government efforts on critical projects. This is why you saw us involved in SADC roads and other flagship projects. What is also critical to highlight is the issue of capacity and utilisation. ZINARA is disbursing 88 percent of its revenue to road projects and this has been audited and confirmed. I am happy to see that as a departure from yesteryear episodes, the local road authorities are coming out and acknowledging that indeed we received what ZINARA says they gave us.
In the past few years the public lost confidence in the way how ZINARA administered the road funds, what have you done to reclaim public confidence?
Answer: Among other measures, we introduced quarterly publication of all disbursements made to road authorities to enhance transparency and accountability on the utilisation of these public funds. We are cognisant of the fact that whilst we have been given the mandate to collect road funds, these funds belong to the people of Zimbabwe and thus we must be accountable and handle them with probity and propriety.
We realised that most local authorities faced challenges in procurement of fuel which is US dollar denominated and we made a strategic decision to procure fuel that we disbursed to them. This enhanced efficiency has been attributed to strengthened revenue assurance mechanisms and an expanded scope of special public interest projects requiring increased funding. What is even more impressive is that some provinces managed to have all their road authorities accessing their full budgets.
What other initiatives are you doing as ZINARA to capacitate road authorities and ensure that funds that you collect are put to good use?
Answer: We took a deliberate position as an organisation that we are a public entity and we need to be accountable to the public. We embarked on a programme of training road authorities, and we are happy that the training are bearing fruits as evidenced by increased budget utilisation by road authorities. Our plea to the road authorities is for them to make sure that contractors deliver quality work to ensure optimum utilisation of resources that we have. Going forward we realise that local authorities do not have adequate equipment and resort to hiring which is expensive. Through the Government, all local road authorities have been approached to identify some pieces of equipment they require and ZINARA will fund that.
This is a notable improvement in both project implementation and financial management among the road authorities, and this is very encouraging as it points to a huge potential for effective road maintenance going forward. This marked improvement may also be attributed to the specialised training offered to Road Authorities by ZINARA covering project management and road funds management capacitation.
Any last words?
Answer: Over the past years, ZINARA went through an aggressive restructuring and rebranding exercise and the fruits are there for everyone to see. I urge stakeholders to be patient as we continue implementing their recommendations. Infrastructure development is a long-term process, and we remain committed to ensuring that every dollar from the Road Fund is utilised effectively and transparently. We acknowledge past challenges but please do not judge us by the commissions and omissions of the past. The road fund belongs to the people, and we have lived up to our promise, to be transparent and accountable. Though there is still a lot of work to be done, ZINARA has proven that it is possible to be a financially stable and accountable State-owned enterprise. With continued support and collaboration, we are committed to playing a critical role in maintaining and rehabilitating Zimbabwe’s road network.
