Chances that damaged roads will not be maintained before the rainy season starts in earnest are now high with the Roads Fund Administration (RFA) saying it has little resources for the task due to non-remittance of fuel levies.
The liquidity challenges at RFA have also impacted operations of the Roads Authority (RA), which has the mandate to facilitate construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of roads in Malawi.
Fuel importers, legally referred to as licensees under the law, are obliged to remit the levy to Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority (Mera) which is supposed to transfer the funds directly to the RFA for road maintenance.
According to the RFA website, fuel levy is the biggest source of revenue for the fund and it accounts for over 85 percent of its annual income.
However, the RFA has indicated in a letter circulating on social media that it has not been receiving fuel levies from Mera and the fund is now owed K151.2 billion.
In the letter, addressed to RA chief executive officer Ammiel Champiti dated November 29 this year, RFA chief executive officer Stewart Malata indicates that the RFA is failing to pay contractors.
The impact, according to Malata, includes the risk of failure to undertake emergency or critical or urgent works which were supposed to be carried out before the onset of rains.
He also highlights that maintenance works under the 2024/25 financial year have not been awarded as there are no funds and this has worsened the existing maintenance backlog.
Reads the letter: “[Highlight that] the road network is in dire need of maintenance and that come the rainy season, there will be more damage to the network.”
According to Malata, the RFA and RA are even at risk of failing to pay salaries if they fail to manage expenses, adding that there is need for the two organisations to cancel activities that can be postponed to survive.
When contacted yesterday, Mera public relations and consumer affairs manager Fitina Khonje promised to respond later while RFA spokesperson Masauko Mngwaluko asked for more time.
However, in August this year, Khonje told The Nation that importers were not remitting the levy to Mera because the landing cost of fuel in the country was higher than the prevailing fuel pump price
