Intertoll collects $56 million from nine tollgates

INTERTOLL Zimbabwe has collected $56 million from the nine tollgates it operates on the rehabilitated Plumtree-Mutare highway on behalf of Zimbabwe National Roads Authority (Zinara) over the past four years, an official has said.

Intertoll Zimbabwe is the local unit of Intertoll Africa, a subsidiary of South African engineering firm, Group Five.

Group Five rehabilitated the 800 kilometre highway under a $206 million loan from the Development Bank of South Africa.

An online publication, The Source quoted Intertoll Zimbabwe managing director Ms Bridget Ledwaba as having told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Infrastructural Development yesterday that: "Since we embarked on our contract, our toll collection income has been $56 million.

Out of that, at least 10 percent were exemptions so what has been banked directly into Zinara's account is about $51 million."

The publication said Ms Ledwaba refused to shed light on the terms of the working arrangement between Intertoll Zimbabwe and Zinara citing ongoing negotiations to review their current contract.

In June, Zinara board chair Albert Mugabe told the same committee that the contract was on a cost-plus-model with Inter-toll getting 21 percent after costs.

When Zimbabwe rolled out toll gates in 2010, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority collected toll fees at all of the country's 26 gates on behalf of Zinara on a 10 percent commission.

Zinara acting chief executive, Moses Juma, said revenue from toll collections had increased significantly since the process was computerised.

"Monthly revenue has increased significantly since we computerised we have seen an increase from $1,2 million to about $2,1 million per month," Juma told the same committee.

In June this year, Zinara said it had raised $180 million since the tolling system was introduced six years ago.

Zimbabwe requires about $5 billion in the next five to 10 years for its national road development and rehabilitation programme.

However, the government through the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development has in recent years received limited funding from the Zinara.

Last year, the allocation by Zinara and Treasury was just over $6 million and this has been the trend previously resulting in a huge backlog in road maintenance activities