(HERALD) Zinara collects US$57m in toll fees

Zinara collects US$57m in toll fees
Saturday, 19 May 2012 00:00
Peter Matambanadzo Senior Reporter

A total of US$57 million in toll fees has been collected since the toll system was started three years ago. In a statement yesterday on the collection and utilisation of toll fees, Secretary for Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development Mr Partson Mbiriri said US$57 million was collected from August 18, 2009 to April 2012.

“Since we started collecting on August 18, 2009 to April 10, 2012 the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority has collected US$56 552 513,39 and remitted a total of sum of US$47 026 318,83 from toll fees to Zinara after retaining 10 percent for administration purposes and US$49 000 for security each month,” the statement reads.

During the same period, Zinara in turn disbursed US$34 million to the Department of Roads for regional, primary and part of the secondary road network maintenance.

The Ministry of Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development said US$16,3 million went towards routine road maintenance, US$10,2 million to road dualisation and road

rehabilitation of the Harare-Masvingo Road, Harare-Gweru Road to Norton and Asphalt overlay from Tynwald and the round about near Snake Park.

At least US$2,9 million was used for construction and improvements of temporary tollgate shelters, construction of detours, road widening sites, traffic counts and purchase of office equipment, while US$1,6 million for purchase of 48 pick up trucks and 14 medium size lorries and vehicle maintenance and other activities.
The Harare Airport Road expenditure was US$2 million and a further US$164 447 was used for borehole drilling, fuel procurement and domestic travel expenses.

The Ministry said US$7,8 million was used for the repayment of a loan to the Ministry of Finance through the Infrastructural Development Bank of Zimbabwe.
The money had been borrowed to fund the road dualisation of Harare-Masvingo and Harare Gweru roads. Zinara recently came under fire for blowing over three times what the law allows it to spend on itself in 2010.

The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor-General in a draft audit report for 2010 noted that Zinara was allowed, under the Roads Act, to spend only 2,5 percent of the money it collected for the roads fund on administration, but it spent eight percent.
The Auditor-General said the amount could have been spent on roads.

The law expects Zinara to spend at least 97,5 percent of what it collects in tolls, vehicle licence fees, fuel levies, overload fees and transit coupon fees on maintaining and extending Zimbabwe’s road system.

While the Auditor-General made no allegations of a criminal nature it was concerned that this overspending was done without the written authority of the parent ministry, that of Transport, Communications and Infrastructure Development.

Zinara collects money for Government’s roads pool and distributes it to councils and the District Development Fund for road maintenance.