News / National
Government abandons plans to set up Obert Mpofu's urban tollgates
22 Nov 2015 at 08:15hrs | Views
THE Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has abandoned plans to set up urban tollgates but will now prioritise the dualisation of the Beitbridge-Chirundu and Beitbridge-Victoria Falls highways, as well as the revival of the National Railways of Zimbabwe.
A plan announced by Government early this year to introduce urban tollgates in order to raise money to build and maintain roads in major cities drew outrage from motorists who are already being levied by their respective local authorities.
However, in a recent interview, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Dr Jorum Gumbo said the ministry had no plans of setting up urban tollgates because people in towns and cities are grappling with economic hardships and this will only worsen the already dire situation.
Dr Gumbo said road dualisation was priority followed by the revival of strategic institutions such as NRZ and Air Zimbabwe that will directly contribute to economic growth and promote investment in the country.
"That is a very sensitive issue because in this environment it might not be practical because people do not have money. This is an issue that was proposed by the previous minister so I have not looked at it but it is not among my priorities.
"The Government has little resources and we are employing extraordinary measures to implement some of our plans," he said.
Dr Gumbo said the Government was finalising feasibility studies on companies that will be contracted for the dualisation of the Beitbridge-Chirundu and Beitbridge-Victoria Falls highways.
He said the works on the 897 km stretch from Chirundu to Beitbridge could gobble between US$1,8 billion and US$2 billion.
"That is a very big project that will cost about $2 billion and we are finalising feasibility studies on the companies that we intend to contract. However, the biggest challenge is that Government does not have adequate funds for the project. Without pre-empting our plans, we hope that the companies will get their money from proceeds from the usage of the roads," he said.
The Government through General Notice 236 of 2015, has requested for technical and financial proposals for preliminary and detailed engineering for the dualisation of the highway, which is a gateway to Africa's second biggest economy, South Africa.
It is understood that while Government will choose the main contractor for the works, about 50 percent of the project will be undertaken by local companies that will be sub-contracted.
In April 2012, Africa Development Bank (AfDB) vice-president and economist Professor Mthuli Ncube noted that delays at Beitbridge Border Post cost about US$35 million annually.
The project was once stalled due to a court challenge by Zim Highways Consortium, a grouping of local firms that had initially been awarded the tender in 2002 but allegedly failed to raise the required capital.
This resulted in the withdrawal of the tender and in turn the consortium approached the courts for relief.
However, the dispute between Government and the consortium was resolved last year with Secretary for Transport and Infrastructural Development Mr Munesu Munodawafa, saying the project was expected to proceed.
The rehabilitation and dualisation of the Beitbridge-Harare-Chirundu highways has been cited as one of the major projects under Government's Zim Asset economic turnaround blueprint.
The highway has recorded a lot of accidents due to the huge volumes of traffic and dualisation has been identified as a long-term solution to the problem.
The dualisation project is expected to resume next month.
Along major highways, motorists with small cars must pay $2.
From Harare to Bulawayo, the second capital city, an ordinary motorist is expected to pay $10, as the highway has five tollgates.
The Zimbabwe National Road Authority is believed to be pocketing at least $3 million from toll fees each month, although major roads remain in a state of disrepair.
Dr Gumbo said the ministry is working around the clock in a bid to revive NRZ and Air Zimbabwe.
A plan announced by Government early this year to introduce urban tollgates in order to raise money to build and maintain roads in major cities drew outrage from motorists who are already being levied by their respective local authorities.
However, in a recent interview, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister Dr Jorum Gumbo said the ministry had no plans of setting up urban tollgates because people in towns and cities are grappling with economic hardships and this will only worsen the already dire situation.
Dr Gumbo said road dualisation was priority followed by the revival of strategic institutions such as NRZ and Air Zimbabwe that will directly contribute to economic growth and promote investment in the country.
"That is a very sensitive issue because in this environment it might not be practical because people do not have money. This is an issue that was proposed by the previous minister so I have not looked at it but it is not among my priorities.
"The Government has little resources and we are employing extraordinary measures to implement some of our plans," he said.
Dr Gumbo said the Government was finalising feasibility studies on companies that will be contracted for the dualisation of the Beitbridge-Chirundu and Beitbridge-Victoria Falls highways.
He said the works on the 897 km stretch from Chirundu to Beitbridge could gobble between US$1,8 billion and US$2 billion.
"That is a very big project that will cost about $2 billion and we are finalising feasibility studies on the companies that we intend to contract. However, the biggest challenge is that Government does not have adequate funds for the project. Without pre-empting our plans, we hope that the companies will get their money from proceeds from the usage of the roads," he said.
The Government through General Notice 236 of 2015, has requested for technical and financial proposals for preliminary and detailed engineering for the dualisation of the highway, which is a gateway to Africa's second biggest economy, South Africa.
It is understood that while Government will choose the main contractor for the works, about 50 percent of the project will be undertaken by local companies that will be sub-contracted.
The project was once stalled due to a court challenge by Zim Highways Consortium, a grouping of local firms that had initially been awarded the tender in 2002 but allegedly failed to raise the required capital.
This resulted in the withdrawal of the tender and in turn the consortium approached the courts for relief.
However, the dispute between Government and the consortium was resolved last year with Secretary for Transport and Infrastructural Development Mr Munesu Munodawafa, saying the project was expected to proceed.
The rehabilitation and dualisation of the Beitbridge-Harare-Chirundu highways has been cited as one of the major projects under Government's Zim Asset economic turnaround blueprint.
The highway has recorded a lot of accidents due to the huge volumes of traffic and dualisation has been identified as a long-term solution to the problem.
The dualisation project is expected to resume next month.
Along major highways, motorists with small cars must pay $2.
From Harare to Bulawayo, the second capital city, an ordinary motorist is expected to pay $10, as the highway has five tollgates.
The Zimbabwe National Road Authority is believed to be pocketing at least $3 million from toll fees each month, although major roads remain in a state of disrepair.
Dr Gumbo said the ministry is working around the clock in a bid to revive NRZ and Air Zimbabwe.
Source - sundaynews
