First Swazi weighbridge expects to fund roads

James Hall
MBABANE - Swaziland’s first weighbridge for trucks was dedicated recently at the Matsapha Industrial Estate. Most road freight companies are headquartered at Matsapha, where the country’s manufacturing sector is largely concentrated.
“We are hopeful that with this weighbridge abnormal loading will be charged so that money collected can be used in the rehabilitation of the roads that are damaged by such overloading,” said Evart Madlopa, principal secretary for the Ministry of Works and Construction, which maintains Swaziland’s road infrastructure.
“We expect transport operations to stick to the tonnage that is provided for by the law so they won’t be penalised for overloading,” he said.
The station was built in 1996 as part of the Manzini-Mbabane highway, but has lain dormant for seven years without essential operating equipment.
The opening of the weigh station follows an announcement that toll fees will be charged on the new highway connecting Mbabane with Oshoek border post, primarily used by road hauliers to and from Gauteng. It signals government’s new policy to make road users pay for highways. The days of international donor agencies footing the bill for Swaziland’s infrastructure are over, government realises, and a strapped national treasury needs to seek other income sources.