Shurugwi Communities Outraged By Plans For New Tollgate

Traditional leaders and local communities in Shurugwi District, Midlands Province, have expressed shock and anger over government plans to erect a new tollgate along the recently resurfaced Mhandamabwe–Shurugwi Road.

The proposed site is barely 30 kilometres away from two existing tollgates on either side of the highway.

Officials from the Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) convened a stakeholder meeting on Friday last week at the Tongogara Rural District Council boardroom to announce the project and gather feedback. The new tollgate is slated for construction near the Musavezi River and the Makotosi turn-off.

If the project goes ahead, motorists will face an unprecedented concentration of toll plazas along a remarkably short stretch of highway. Drivers departing from Gweru will first encounter the existing Guinea Fowl tollgate just 20 kilometres into their journey.

Continuing along the same route, they will hit the proposed new tollgate at the Musavezi River at the 50-kilometre mark, before encountering yet another barrier, the Mhandamabwe tollgate, just 40 kilometres further down the road at the 90-kilometre mark.

Speaking on behalf of the Ministry of Transport’s Engineer Stephen Kamutema, Kenneth Sakupwanya said that the decision was driven by a massive surge in traffic volumes following the comprehensive rehabilitation of the Mhandamabwe–Shurugwi Road two years ago.

The announcement was met with fierce resistance from residents and leaders, who argued that no other part of the country suffers from such a dense cluster of tollgates.

During the meeting, one resident protested that it was unfair for a single district to carry such a heavy financial burden to raise road funds that would benefit the entire nation.

Chief Nhema, born Munetsi Ngere, raised concerns about the impact on his subjects’ daily lives. He pointed out that the tollgate is positioned so poorly that villagers running routine errands, such as driving to local business centres just to buy bread, will be forced to pay toll fees.

The traditional leader warned that the move would severely restrict the free movement of local people and disrupt their day-to-day livelihoods.

“Apart from daily hustles with these tollgates, our children who come home for holidays will be restricted from driving locally and visiting relatives, going to business centres to meet friends or to churches,” said Chief Nhema.

Ward 18 Councillor Stewart Tavagwisa warned that the new tollgate will disrupt the local economy, particularly the construction industry.

He argued that vehicles would be forced to pay the toll repeatedly when transporting river sand from the Musavezi River to the growth point for housing projects.

Consequently, residents at the meeting vehemently rejected the proposal to introduce another tollgate to Shurugwi.

In an attempt to win over the hostile crowd, Sakupwanya argued that funds collected at the gate would be redistributed locally to help maintain the district’s roads.

He also offered a concession, saying residents living within a 10-kilometre radius of the site could apply for a special discount on toll fees.

However, Chief Nhema dismissed these assurances as empty promises. He countered that once the infrastructure was built, no government official would return to consult the community, adding that locals had always been left to struggle with maintaining their roads entirely on their own.

“These are just promises. We know that after establishing the tollgate, you are not going to come back and talk about those discounts or to give us money to maintain our roads. We have always struggled to maintain our local road network without the government,” said Chief Nhema.

More: Masvingo Mirror