CLOUDINE MATOLA
The Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) collected revenue of ZWL$868.59bn for the year ended 31 December 2023, which was 13% more than was projected, Business Times can report.
Of this sum, ZINARA allocated more than ZW$500bn to commitments pertaining to roads.
It comes at a time when Zimbabwe’s roads are in bad shape after years of neglect by former President Rober Mugabe’s administration.
Nonetheless, under President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Second Republic acknowledged that the nation’s roads and bridges were in terrible condition and urgently needed to be rebuilt. Consequently, in response to public uproar over the high number of fatalities on the nation’s roadways, the government started an emergency road repair initiative.
Nkosinathi Ncube, the CEO of ZINARA, a State entity established under the Roads Act (Chapter 13:18) to fix, collect, distribute road user fees as well as mobilise funds for roads development and upkeep, said the organisation’s revenue came from a variety of sources, including 29 toll gates and license fees, fuel levies and transit fees, among others channels.
“The revenue mix comprised a 38% contribution from all 29 tolling points nationwide while licensing fees contributed 34% up from 30% in 2022. Fuel levies, transit fees contributed 15% and 11% respectively,” he said.
Ncube stated that a number of efforts were implemented, resulting in a rise in licensing fees from 30% to 34% as of December 31 of last year.
“Licensing revenue grew in the year owing to the various initiatives we have undertaken to improve access to licensing services by setting up licensing systems at tollgates, Central Vehicle Registry, ZIMARA and VID.
“This, complemented by roadside enforcement operations and marketing promotions, has improved licensing gradually and we anticipate continued growth in the current year,” he said.
Ncube continued, saying the administration disbursed 88% of collected cash to road projects and direct costs of collection. Whilst the remaining was used on administration.
“ZINARA committed 88% of collected revenue to road -related disbursements and direct costs of collection. This reserved 12% for the administration. This split has been possible through financial discipline and prudence in the management of costs across the board,” Ncube said.
Additionally, Ncube stated that during the period under review , ZINARA disbursed ZWL$219bn to four road authorities.
Furthermore, there was a significant improvement in the province-wide uptake of grant allocations. Over 20 road authorities claimed 100% of their allocated money, with some only accessing 75%.
The provinces with the highest uptake were Harare Metropolitan Province and Manicaland, both claiming about 97% of their budgets. Lowest claims were from Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Masvingo and Matebeleland North Provinces, both accessing less than 65% of their budgets.
While rural municipalities only accessed 71% of their allotted resources, urban councils claimed a combined 81% of them.
Ncube also said ZINARA spent ZWL$6.9bn for the year ended December 31 2023 on capital projects, with the majority of that amount going towards systems upgrade, digital transformation and other assets essential to improving the administration’s operating efficiencies.
ZINARA board chairman Dr George Manyaya said out of the total revenue collected, ZWL$536bn was channelled to road related commitments.
“Out of this amount, ZWL$536bn was channelled to road related commitments,” Manyaya said.
Additionally, Manyaya said Harare completed 31.6km of rehabilitation works in the period under review, 18.18km asphalt overlay, 30.89km spot gravelling, 411.78km pothole patching and in terms of bush clearing, covered 1,962km.
Some of the refurbished roads in Harare include Masotsha Ndlovu, Alpes Road, Sloane and Tilco road in Chitungwiza which all handle high traffic volumes on a daily basis.
In 2023, the administration funded several key economic projects that have helped to transform people’s lives in different parts of the country. Some of these projects include Somgolo bridge which is 178 metres long that was repaired at a cost of ZWL$15,5 bn.
The completion of this project has enabled improved access to critical services and markets. The bridge connects Tsholotsho and Lupane districts.
Another key project was the rehabilitation of the 10km stretch on the Binga-Siakobvu road at a cost of ZWL$353bn which connects three provinces namely Matabeleland North, Midlands, and Mashonaland West.The road cuts back the current Harare Binga route by 300kms.
In other projects, Rwenya bridge was worked on at the value of ZWL$5 bn. This bridge connects Manicaland and Mashonaland East provinces.
