Spokesperson for ministry of finance, Williams Banda, said this in response to fears that the funds might be channeled to other recurrent transactions as is the case with carbon tax.

“The policy design for carbon is totally different from that of the toll fees. The tollgate fee is earmarked fee to be used for maintenance and rehabilitation of roads starting with areas where the tollgate is situated. So, the general public should be assured of better roads,” he said.

Public Accounts Committee chairperson, Shadreck Namalomba, says his committee will be following how the tollgate money will be used.

“Remember sometimes back, MERA [Malawi Energy Regulatory Authority] was used to fund purchase of maize at ADMARC. That was a misdirection of resources. We wouldn’t want to have the same to happen now.

“We should go beyond just putting regulations to guide how to manage the tollgate money. We must make sure that it is used for the intended purpose,” he said.

Government introduced carbon tax to mitigate effects of climate change among others but the money is being used for other recurrent transactions.