Passport and Toll Fees Reduced!
Harare | Professor Mthuli Ncube, the minister of finance, has lowered his planned tollgate charge increase for the upcoming year down to 50%.
The Treasury Secretary had suggested raising the fees by more than twice as much, from US$2 to US$5 for light automobiles, for example, in the 2024 national budget that was unveiled last month.
However, Ncube scaled back the planned increase in toll costs to 50% on Thursday in response to opposition in Parliament.
“We are suggesting that we simply raise the basic toll price by 50%, as opposed to 100% as previously suggested. We cut back on the rise.
“The same applies to the premium roads, again I am not proposing the full amount but only half of that. So, we have lowered these toll fee increases,” he said.
“I also listened to a comment that perhaps tollgates that are closer to the city should have lower toll fees than elsewhere. We will look into this.
“It sounds like a noble proposal because some of the people who live out at the edge of the city or those who work in the city, if they are having to pay high toll fees, we do not want that. We want it to be fair and reflect the fact that the work here, we do not want to overly penalise those individuals,” he said.