Legislator calls for stiffer penalties for toll gate evaders

Gokwe Central legislator,Davison Masvisvi says the country is losing millions of revenue through leakages at toll gates.

Speaking in parliament this week, Masvisvi says that the nation was losing revenue due to toll gate evaders.

A lot of motorists have devised ways to bypass toll gates on the country’s highways, resisting the seemingly exorbitant toll fees.

The Zimbabwe Roads Administration (ZINARA) charges light motor vehicles between US$3 and US$4 at the toll gates, depending on the type of road.

Minibuses are required to pay US$5, buses US$8, while heavy vehicles and haulage trucks pay US$10 and US$20 respectively.

However, the legislator feels that this errant behaviour by motorists is depriving the government of revenue.

“I rise with the profound concern over the alarming revenue loss resulting from rampant toll gate evasions as detailed in the Auditor General’s report,” he said.

Masvisvi believes that, as a result, this has a ripple effect on the maintenance of roads and infrastructure development.

These leakages, estimated to cost the nation millions annually, directly undermine our capacity to maintain and rehabilitate critical infrastructure.

“This is a strategy impediment to our national development agenda as outlined in our National Development Strategy (NDS1),” added Masvisvi.

He further called on police agents to descend hard on those evading toll gates, calling for the strengthening of monitoring mechanisms.