Minister of Transport and Public Works Jappie Mhango said the levy is being brought back because government has been failing to raise enough money to maintain roads, resulting in years of neglect and widespread damage. Mhango admitted that the move will further increase the cost of fuel, but insisted there is no alternative if Malawi is to stop its roads from collapsing. “I know fuel prices are already high.
I know people are hurting. But this is a painful solution we must accept if we want usable roads. Without the fuel levy, there is simply no money for road works,” said Mhango.
He said the earlier suspension of the fuel-based road levy crippled government’s ability to fund routine maintenance, allowing small problems to grow into major and costly. The minister revealed that, alongside the fuel levy, government has also rolled out additional taxes to rebuild its financial capacity to construct and maintain infrastructure. “Some of these taxes may look harsh now, but they are necessary.
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If we don’t act, our road network will completely deteriorate,” he said. He pointed to major roads such as the M1, now riddled with potholes, the Monkey Bay–Golomoti Road, and several other critical routes, saying they are in poor condition because government was stripped of a dedicated funding source for maintenance. According to Mhango, the reintroduction of the fuel levy is not about punishing motorists, but about rescuing a road system that has been slowly falling apart due to years of underfunding.
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