Zanu-PF cabinet approves urban toll gates

Cabinet has approved the setting up of toll gates in urban areas as part of government's efforts to raise funds for the rehabilitation of national roads, the minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development, Obert Mpofu said Friday.

"We are worried about the unnecessary loss of lives on our roads and we have to rehabilitate the national roads to arrest these carnages," Mpofu told transport operators from Bulawayo soon after addressing people who had marched against road carnage in the city.

He said the country would soon see a lot of activity on the national roads but everyone had to participate in the rehabilitation, hence government's decision to set up toll gates in urban areas.

"Urban toll gates will be set up soon," said Mpofu without mentioning dates.

The setting up of toll gates in urban areas has attracted the ire of motorists who feel the move will further stretch their already empty pockets.

Other motorists, however, viewed urban tolls as the answer to decongesting towns with motorists only making essential trips into the central business district.

Mpofu said in developed countries, even South Africa, urban tolls were the norm.

The minister said the country's roads, most of which had outlived their lifespan, would be rehabilitated through the build-operate-transfer (BOT) concept as tenders had already been flighted.

Zimbabwe has had two successful BOT projects, namely the New Limpopo Bridge and the Beitbridge-Bulawayo Railway Line of which the former will be handed over to government next month.

Mpofu urged Bulawayo transport operators to form associations and embrace government's efforts to phase out kombis and replace them with larger conventional high-volume buses to decongest the urban areas.

"You must form associations and buy these busses as a group and the government is ready to assist you on this," he said adding that divisions amongst operators were their undoing since government was ready to assist groups rather than individuals.

Public transport operators in Bulawayo had earlier asked the minister to intervene in the wake of numerous unregistered operators who were driving bona-fide operators out of business.

"We have more than 700 unlicenced operators in Bulawayo and we have lost most of our experienced drivers to those pirate taxis which are not stopped by police," said Albert Ncube of the Bulawayo United Bulawayo Transport Association.

Ncube, who spoke on behalf of other operators, asked the minister to facilitate cheaper defensive driving courses for public service vehicle operators and also review the retests for drivers which were like almost starting driving lessons afresh.

Addressing marchers earlier on, Mpofu urged the courts to impose deterrent sentences on errant commuter omnibus operators and drivers who broke traffic rules.