Transport minister Obert Mpofu says his ministry has started consultations with urban councils in preparation for the government’s plans to introduce tollgates in urban areas, a move meant to decongest the city centers and raise funds to finance infrastructural development.
Mpofu told VOA Studio 7 further consultation between his ministry and the Local Government, Public Works, and National Housing ministries are at an advanced stage and the plans will be implemented in 2016 after the government completes its current project of introducing more tollgates in the country’s highways.
Mpofu said the country’s current tollgate system has attracted a lot of attention in the region, as evidenced by a high-powered Malawian delegation which is touring the country’s road projects.
However, former Pumula legislator and member of the parliamentary portfolio committee on Transport and Infrastructure, Albert Mhlanga, said the government should put more effort in rehabilitating roads with returns from the current tollgates system.