The Dema tollgate located along the Chitungwiza-Wedza Highway between Ziko and Dema Shopping Centres will be moved to Kandava, a local legislator has said.
Seke MP Munyaradzi Kashambe (ZANU PF) on Monday said the relocation of the tollgate had since been approved and the construction will commence as soon as Treasury releases the funds. Said Kashambe:
The Dema tollgate will be relocated to Kandava area near the Econet booster.
They were waiting for the new toll plaza design and the design is out and approved.
We are now waiting for the disbursement of the funds from the Finance ministry, otherwise, all is good to go.
We hope we won’t be delayed this time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, most of the funds are likely to be channelled towards road rehabilitation because roads have been declared a national disaster.
Villagers in the Dema area of Seke district had over the years been pushing for the tollgate to be relocated as it is economically affecting their lives.
Seke Rural Development Platform secretary-general Givemore Chipere said the tollgate is inconveniencing the villagers especially those who rely on farming and travel to markets in Chitungwiza. Said Chipere:
It is unfair for us to pay toll fees within our area almost every day. Moreover, our schoolgoing children, especially at Besa Primary are at risk of being hit by vehicles that use a feeder road to evade paying toll fees.
The Dema tollgate has been reported as one of the worst revenue collection points as motorists use feeder roads to evade paying toll fees.
The Zimbabwe National Roads Administration in 2018 admitted that the toll gate was wrongly sited.