Consultations on urban tollgates start

Published: 25 October 2013

THE Government has started engaging local authorities and other stakeholders on the establishment of urban toll gates with the view of getting their input on the implementation of the project.

In an interview on the sidelines of a tour of NRZ mechanical workshops in Bulawayo yesterday, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Dr Obert Mpofu, invited stakeholders to forward their views on how best the idea could be implemented.

"We are taking the initiative seriously and it is a collaborative effort from all stakeholders. We are working together with local authorities, both urban and rural in order to get their input.

"A team from my ministry is already working on that and we want to conduct wide consultations so that stakeholders become part of the policies that we craft as a ministry. We cannot be putting toll gates where there no vehicles. We have to erect them where there are more vehicles and that is Bulawayo and Harare, said Dr Mpofu.

He said a large proportion of vehicles in the country were operating without licences and said the computerised urban tolling system would help address the issue.

"About 500 000 vehicles in the country are not registered and very soon the ministry would come up with mechanisms to have them registered. This will also assist the country in reducing the number of accidents as some of the unregistered vehicles are driven by people without licences.

"We will also be flighting tenders for the establishment of the urban tollgates. We are doing all these initiatives in line with our Zanu-PF election manifesto," he said.

The Government recently proposed to introduce urban tollgates in a bid to decongest cities and raise money for financing infrastructure development.

Although motorists have expressed reservations on the proposal, the Government has insisted that the initiative would raise money to fund the rehabilitation of the road network.

- newsday

Tags: Tollgates,