Mozambique urges joint funding push for Southern Africa’s roads and logistics corridors

Mozambique on Monday acknowledged challenges in financing road network construction in Southern Africa, calling for joint resource mobilisation to develop logistics corridors and greater private sector participation in their maintenance. “The challenge of sustainable financing remains central. Investment needs continue to be high in a context where a significant portion of the region’s road network is still made up of unpaved roads, while there is also a marked accumulation of maintenance needs,” said Secretary of State for Transport Chinguane Mabote.

Speaking in Maputo at the opening of the Southern Africa focal group meeting of the African Road Maintenance Funds Association (ARMFA), the official called for greater coordination among the region’s road funds in mobilising resources for the development and maintenance of logistics corridors, arguing that this would ensure consistent service levels across transport chains linking countries. “It is essential to consolidate and optimise traditional sources of financing, including fuel levies, road charges, tolls, vehicle circulation taxes and other instruments based on the user-pays principle,” Mabote said. He added that financial management mechanisms must be strengthened through digitalisation to improve efficiency in the collection and allocation of available resources, urging road management bodies to ensure good governance, which is essential for maintaining road infrastructure.

For Mozambique, economic transformation in Southern Africa requires efficient, interconnected infrastructure capable of sustaining dynamic economies. The country noted that it has been strengthening cooperation with neighbouring countries and regional bodies, aiming at the gradual integration of road networks and harmonisation of management procedures. In this context, Mozambique wants institutions such as ARMFA and the Southern African National Roads Agencies (ASANRA) to play a more active role, contributing to stronger institutional capacity across the continent.

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At the same event, ARMFA Vice-President Ângelo Macuácua acknowledged challenges linked to rising fuel prices in managing the region’s road networks, noting that they create political and social pressure to reduce levies on fuel, thereby lowering revenue essential for infrastructure maintenance. “On the other hand, consumption falls, reducing traffic and revenues from fuel and road charges. At the same time, the costs of construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of roads increase.

We face a difficult equation: rising costs and declining revenues, which requires governments to carefully assess and calibrate measures to mitigate fuel price increases,” he said. Macuácua also pointed to climate change as a challenge affecting the durability of infrastructure, undermining the financial sustainability of road funds.

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