Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (ZINARA) has lost millions of dollars in potential revenue in a racket involving cashiers manning the toll gates countrywide, the Zim Morning Post has learnt.
Impeccable sources told the Zim Morning Post, that cashiers fraudulently used the number plates of exempted vehicles and charge ordinary vehicles thereby prejudicing the State of millions of dollars.
“What they is in the system they misrepresent that an exempted vehicle has passed through the toll gate and go on to collect money from ordinary citizens and pocket it.
“As you know some cars are exempted to pay tollgate fees so they capitalize on that ,” revealed our source.
Exempted vehicles include parliamentary vehicles and those used by diplomatic missions among others.
One source said that is why cashiers prefer cash payments which they can easily pocket without trace or paper trail.
The source claimed this resulted in certain number plates recurring in computer systems at toll gates multiple times per day and this high level of frequency suggests ZINARA could be losing millions in revenue.
ZINARA is already dogged by numerous reports of misappropriation of funds, nepotism and accusations of abuse of office involving senior executives.
This was exposed in a forensic audit carried out by Grant Thornton between 2014-2018.
Meanwhile, former ZINARA board chairman Albert Mugabe appeared in court this week answering to charges criminal abuse of office.