‘Pay to drive’: Mzuzu launches K1,000 toll fees at three checkpoints to fund road repairs

Mzuzu City Council has launched a controversial new road-user fee programme, forcing motorists to pay charges at three checkpoints in a bid to raise urgently needed funds for road maintenance and rehabilitation.

The scheme, which came into effect on Monday, applies to vehicles entering the city through three main checkpoints: the Dunduzu roadblock on the Karonga-Songwe Road, the Lusangazi roadblock, and the M5 Joel roadblock at Kaning’ina.

Under the new system, drivers of light vehicles will be charged K1,000, while buses, lorries and trucks face a steeper K5,000 fee every time they pass through the checkpoints.

Mzuzu City Mayor Chiyembekezo Moses said the council was projecting to collect at least K1 billion every quarter through the scheme, with the funds earmarked specifically for filling potholes, paving streets and repairing the city’s chronically damaged road network.

‘This money will be used to improve our road network,’ Moses said.

‘We have opened a special bank account and set up a taskforce to ensure transparency and proper monitoring of the funds.’

The initiative has received a cautious welcome from campaigners, with Mzuzu Civil Society Network chairperson Edward Kantuseya backing the scheme in principle, while urging the council to iron out practical problems likely to frustrate motorists at the checkpoints.

‘The council should buy more point-of-sale machines and build proper traffic checkpoints to reduce congestion and speed up payments,’ Kantuseya said, raising concerns that poorly managed toll points could lead to lengthy queues and traffic chaos.

The scheme comes amid years of frustration over Mzuzu’s poor road conditions, a problem residents say has been consistently worsened by limited council budgets and competing spending priorities.

But road user Peter Moyo struck a more sceptical tone, warning that the initiative’s success would ultimately hinge on whether the council could demonstrate it was delivering real, visible results rather than simply collecting fresh revenue.

‘The success of this initiative will depend on whether residents see tangible improvements in road conditions or not,’ Moyo said.

‘Transparent management and visible progress will be key to winning public trust and proving that the initiative is worth the cost.’

The scheme places Mzuzu among a growing number of Malawian local authorities experimenting with direct user fees to plug persistent infrastructure funding gaps, though its success will likely be closely watched by other councils considering similar measures, given the potential for public backlash if motorists feel they are simply paying more without seeing corresponding improvements to the roads they use daily.

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