By MILDRED KATONGO –
ALL is set for tomorrow’s opening of the Munyumbi and Kafulafuta toll gates on the Great North Road.
National Road Fund Agency (NRFA) public relations officer Alphonsius Hamachila said that the Munyumbi toll booth between Kabwe and Kapiri-Mposhi, and the Kafulafuta booth located between Kapiri-Mposhi and Ndola would be operational tomorrow.
He said motorists travelling between the Copperbelt and Lusaka from tomorrow onwards should be aware of the new development and pay toll fees accordingly.
Mr Hamachila said the two toll booths were temporary while the construction of modern toll plazas countrywide was in progress.
He said the toll fees for light motor vehicles was pegged at K10, buses with 24 seats and above at K25, while medium heavy motor vehicles would also be paying K25.
He said large motor vehicles will be paying between K40 and K60, while larger vehicles will be paying K80 with extra large and abnormal load vehicles paying between K160 and K250.
Mr Hamachila explained that motorists should know that the money being paid at toll booths was not a tax, but merely a user pay principle for the service.
He said people should understand that the booths were meant to enable the agency to collect toll fees to help maintain the roads.
Meanwhile, motorists in Ndola have said they are ready to start paying toll fees because they wanted the roads to be maintained.
Mwase Chisanga said the move was welcome and would help maintain the roads and keep them in good shape all the time.
Mr Chisanga said there was need for transparency and that the NRFA should ensure that the money was used for the intended purpose.
“It is a good move that the NRFA will start collecting toll fees, but what we want to see is transparency in the manner the money will be collected and it should be used for the intended purposes.
“At the end of the day, when the roads are not maintained, we as motorists will suffer,” he said.