Two more tollgates on cards
Roads Fund Administration (RFA) has collected a cumulative K9.1 billion from tollgates as at February 2024. However, the fund says the money is not enough to rehabilitate some sections of the M1. Our reporter GRACE PHIRI engages RFA public relations manager MASAUKO MNGWALUKO on why the money in the bag cannot meet the cost of patching the potholes on the road and more.
Looking at the rising costs of road construction and rehabilitation, how do you plan to finance public roads in the country?
RFA is fully aware of the need for more resources for maintenance of public roads. In view of this we have identified tolling [erecting tollgates] as one of the futuristic strategies to ensure there is sustained road financing and road maintenance. We are planning to increase the number of tollgates from the current two to four in the coming financial year.
How far have you gone with revenue diversification efforts?
RFA has already diversified through the introduction of tolling. We are also working with some financial institutions to raise roads bonds for financing major road maintenance and rehabilitation. Currently, in Lilongwe, we are financing the rehabilitation and upgrading of the Kenyatta Drive to Shoprite and Mzimba Street from Kamuzu Central Hospital to Crossroads to six-lane road projects using the Roads Bond facility.
To date, how much have you raised from toll gates?
As of end February 2024 we had raised K9.1 billion from the road toll. Out of this, we are paying for operating expenses of the toll gates and the maintenance and rehabilitation works.
With all that money in the kitty, why do we still have potholes on key roads?
For the potholes of the tolled road, the money is enough to ensure the potholes are worked on. However, besides pothole-patching, some sections of the road need to be rehabilitated. This will require a lot of money. The Roads Authority (RA), who are responsible for all road works on M1, will, therefore, do this in phases due to inadequate resources. As and when more resources are available, the RA will deploy more contractors to rehabilitate the road.
What is the economic impact of the country’s inability to maintain the road network, notably M1, M5 etc?
The two are very key roads and they facilitate a lot of economic and social activities such as access to markets, commerce, health service and many other activities. You can, therefore, imagine the impact the failure to maintain these roads would have on the economy as a whole.
What do you say about the current financing model in terms of delivering optimal results?
There is always need for more resources and we continue looking at ways on how we can enhance our resource base. Tolling is one such ways. Currently, that is what we are pursuing. We will continue to build more tollgates where justifiable. However, we have noted in recent times that the effects of the devaluation, rising cost of raw materials for road maintenance/rehabilitation and the erosion of the value in our toll fees will require a review of the toll rates if tolling is to be meaningful.
