Council to charge drivers entering Mzuzu — three checkpoints confirmed

Motorists heading into Mzuzu City are being warned to brace themselves for a fresh cost at the pump — with the Mzuzu City Council (MCC) set to introduce controversial new road user fees for vehicles entering the city from next month.

The new charges will come into force from 10 August, according to a notice posted on the council’s official Facebook page, and will be enforced at three key entry points into the city.

Drivers travelling along the M1 Road will be hit with the fee at the Dunduzu Road Block, as well as further along the same route at Lusangazi.

A third checkpoint will be set up on the M5 Road at the Joel Road Block in Kaning’ina — meaning almost all major routes into the city will now come at a price.

The council has moved to justify the charges, insisting that every kwacha collected through the scheme will be ploughed directly back into much-needed road maintenance works across Mzuzu — a city that, like much of Malawi, has grappled with deteriorating infrastructure and limited funding for repairs.

While the council frames the move as a necessary step towards better roads, the announcement is likely to spark mixed reactions among motorists and transport operators, many of whom are already grappling with rising fuel costs and economic pressures.

Questions are also likely to be raised over how the fees will be structured, who will be exempt, and how transparently the funds will be managed once collected.