Government recently announced a 100 percent increase in toll fees with effect from July 11.
ZLHR, represented by Selby Hwacha, a senior lawyer and a board member at the organisation, is questioning the validity of the Toll Roads ((Regional Trunk Road Network) (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 (No. 5) Statutory Instrument 106/2014, which was used to hike the toll fees.
Through a member lawyer, Joshua Shekede of Wintertons Legal Practitioners, ZLHR is seeking to have a statement issued by the Transport Minister, Obert Mpofu, last Sunday to be nullified.
ZLHR is arguing that the unilateral toll fee hike contravenes Section
68 of the Constitution that provides that every person “has a right to administrative conduct that is lawful, prompt, efficient, reasonable, proportionate, impartial and both substantively and procedurally fair.”
“ Mpofu…proceeded to impose the hike in toll gate fees without bothering to respond to queries raised by ZLHR in a letter addressed to the Transport, Communications and Infrastructural Development Minister and dated 24 June 2014 over the utilisation and accountability of the money collected from designated tolling points around the country,” said ZLHR in a statement.
It added: “The government increased the toll gate fees without consulting (ZLHR) and the general motoring public and is apprehensive that Zinara will proceed to implement Statutory Instrument 106/2014 come Friday 11 July 2014.”
ZLHR said Mpofu did not act lawfully, reasonably or in a fair manner by unilaterally increasing the fees, thereby contravening Section 3 of the Administrative Justice Act, Chapter 10:28.
Post published in: News