The Government has abolished the Road Access Fee, bringing to an end a levy that motorists and transport operators had paid for close to two decades, Transport and Infrastructural Development Minister, Hon. Adv. F.T. Mhona, has announced.
In a statement, Minister Mhona traced the reform to a directive issued by President Emmerson Mnangagwa during the first Cabinet meeting of 2026, in which all Ministries, Departments and Agencies were instructed to finalise the review of taxes, licences, permits and regulatory fees charged across Government. The directive forms part of a broader national effort to eliminate excessive administrative costs and strengthen Zimbabwe’s economic competitiveness by improving the ease of doing business.
Cabinet subsequently considered and approved a review of fees charged by the Central Vehicle Registry, Road Motor Transportation and the Vehicle Inspectorate Department, with particular emphasis on removing unjustifiable, duplicative or overlapping charges. Pursuant to this process, the Ministry has rationalised fees across the three departments, including regulatory requirements and permit charges that duplicated functions across agencies.
Minister Mhona said Statutory Instrument 113 of 2026, gazetted on 24 July 2026, gives legal effect to the removal of the Road Access Fee, describing the milestone as aligned with the Ministry’s commitment to improving the ease of doing business and promoting economic competitiveness.
The Road Access Fee was introduced in 2009, at a time when Zimbabwe did not yet have a national road tolling system. With the subsequent rollout of ZINARA toll gates across the national road network, the fee became duplicative, resulting in motorists being charged twice for the same service. The change builds on earlier transport-sector reforms introduced this year under Statutory Instruments 6 and 10 of 2026, which substantially reduced a range of vehicle registration and licensing fees.
The removal of the Road Access Fee is expected to lower the cost of cross-border travel and freight movement, benefiting commercial transporters, cross-border bus operators and private motorists entering Zimbabwe through ports of entry such as Beitbridge, Chirundu and Forbes, where the fee had previously been charged alongside other statutory levies.
The Minister said the Ministry remained committed to creating a modern, efficient and business-friendly transport regulatory framework, and urged all drivers, vehicle owners and transport operators to comply fully with road transport regulations while taking advantage of the revised, streamlined fee structure now in place.
