PETITION CALLING FOR THE SUSPENSION OF THE NATIONAL ROAD TOLLING PROGRAM ON SELECTED ROADS PENDING PROGRAM REVIEW

Lucky Cheelo Munakampe
06/02/2022

Good morning countrymen and women,

This morning I would like to ask all of you to join me in petitioning the New Dawn Government to suspend the Road Tolling Program on the Copperbelt Road starting from Lusaka that is T2 (Katuba Toll Plaza, Manyumbi Toll Plaza) and T3 (Kafulafuta Toll Plaza, Michael Sata Toll Plaza and that new one between Kitwe and Chingola) because the Road Tolling Program has failed to meet the objective it was setup for to allow for the review and report on how the funds raised from the program have been utilized.

Citizens and the government may wish to remember that there was resistance from the ordinary citizens and nearly all stakeholders to the introduction of a Road Tolling Program in Zambia because people feared the money raised will be misappropriated like any other taxes and levies, that the program will just increase the burden on ordinary citizens with no visible benefits to the people of Zambia.

The PF government together with their surrogate NGOs defended this program stating that the program would raise the much needed funds for road maintenance, the government bulldozed it's desire against the wishes of ordinary citizens and billions of Kwachas have been collected annually with nothing to show on where this money has been going.

It is clear that the National Road Tolling Program has become another revenue generating venture for the national treasury contrary to the purpose why the program was introduced. All roads where toll gates are installed have been depreciating at an alarming rate and the only thing we hear is that the government has to borrow money to fix these same roads, case in point is the same part of T2 Lusaka Kapiri and T3 Kapiri Ndola or commonly proposed so-called Lusaka Ndola Dual Carriage Way.

Why should government borrow money to fix a road that has three toll gates in all seriousness?

On top of the Road Tolling Program, citizens have continued paying road tax, another form of tax similar to the Road Tolling Program which tax was recently revised upwards. Putting my argument into context, driving from Lusaka to Chingola, the amount of money you spend on road tolls is more than the amount you pay on road tax for a full year depending on your type of vehicle.

Once more I wish to call on all citizens who know their rights to join me in petitioning the New Dawn Government to suspend the National Road Tolling Program on the specified roads until these roads have been worked on. We must also demand for an explanation on the utilization of the money realized from this program since it's inception.

One Zambia, One Nation.