Roads Fund Administration (RFA) says it has, for the past three years, been financing road maintenance works using revenue from toll gates after the Treasury stopped remitting fuel levy funds to the Roads Fund.
RFA Chief Executive Officer Stewart Malata disclosed this during a tour aimed at showcasing how funds collected from Chingeni and Kalinyeke toll gates are being utilised.
Malata said RFA has collected K16.5 billion from Chingeni and Kalinyeke toll gates over the five years since they became operational. However, he revealed that the “Treasury owes us fuel levy remittances amounting to over K216 billion”, adding that RFA has not received any funding from the Treasury in the past three years.
Malata said of the K16.5 billion collected from the two toll gates, over K9.5 billion has already been used to maintain and patch 290 kilometres of the M1 Road from Blantyre to Lilongwe.
Ministry of Finance spokesperson Williams Banda asked for ample time before he could respond to the issue.
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Recently, the government indicated that there were plans to construct new tolling facilities at Chileka along the Mchinji Road, Mponela, Gwayi in Nkhamenya, and another site in Salima District.
Economic commentator Velli Nyirongo has warned that the situation carries serious economic, social and governance implications for Malawi.
“Stopping remittances of fuel levy funds to the Roads Fund undermines the original purpose of the levy. Motorists pay the fuel levy on the understanding that it finances road construction and maintenance,” Nyirongo said.
