On Sanusi’s N300bn road bill

Why Bad Roads With a weak infrastructural base, many Nigerian roads can only be described as death traps, causing thousands of deaths each year. There are just too many motor vehicles (many not even roadworthy) using this weak road infrastructure, thereby, readily damaging the roads. Pedestrians do not damage the road; vehicles do. If the […]

Why Bad Roads

With a weak infrastructural base, many Nigerian roads can only be described as death traps, causing thousands of deaths each year. There are just too many motor vehicles (many not even roadworthy) using this weak road infrastructure, thereby, readily damaging the roads. Pedestrians do not damage the road; vehicles do. If the damage is caused by cars and other vehicles, then, it makes sense for the owners of such vehicles to pay towards the cost of maintaining the roads. Unlike many developed countries, Nigerian car owners use the roads free of charge. The fact is that the cost of maintaining road is at present, only borne by the government (i.e. from public funds). This means that non-car owners are also bearing the burden of the maintenance cost. This is very unfair. Besides, government cannot afford to continued mountaining these roads free of charge. Free things are not always that good. This is exactly the case with Nigerian roads.  As the road usage is free of charge, it is very difficult for motorists to hold the government responsible for its failure to maintain the roads. At present, road maintenance is like the government’s undeserved kindness towards the Nigerian people.

How to Finance Road Maintenance

Since cars and heavy vehicles cause the damage to the roads, let the owners pay for the usage of the roads. In the United Kingdom, every car owner is liable to pay an annual charge known as Road Tax. Every car is subject to this tax. Therefore, if Mr A has 3 cars, then all his 3 cars are subject to the tax. This is a more pragmatic means of financing road infrastructure. No car without a valid road tax is allowed on the road, as it has no mandate to be on it. If seen on the road, such cars can be seized (in some cases destroyed) by the relevant road authorities. It is part of the funds that are generated from road tax that should be used to maintain the road infrastructure.

In the United Kingdom, the annual road tax that an average car is liable to pay is in the region of £120 to £160. Bigger cars and trucks that consume more fuel and cause greater pollution to the environment are liable to pay much more. The bigger the car, therefore, the higher the road tax the owner is liable to pay. This is because bigger cars cause greater damage to the roads as well as to the environment. Motorists may be able to pay the tax for a period of 6 months or 12 months usage of the roads.

Let us assume that there are 10 million vehicles in Nigeria and the average road tax imposed on the car is ten thousand naira (N10,000 i.e. about £40) per annum. It means that Nigeria can potentially raise one hundred billion (N100,000,000,000) naira annually. Based on the N10,000 naira road tax levy, the table below illustrates different levels of revenue generation.

Ten thousand naira annually (i.e. less than N1,000 per month) road tax does not sound too painful for motorists.

Apart from revenue generation, road tax can bring other benefits. It can also be a means of reducing the number of cars on the road, thereby reducing traffic jams and pollution. Many Nigerians have 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or more cars. By levying road tax on each car, some owners may reduce the number of cars they own. Others who intended to buy cars, may be wary of buying one, as a result of the tax.  However, the UK government has exempted energy efficient cars (e.g. electric cars), from paying road tax, as they emit less pollution into the atmosphere. Furthermore, only cars that are roadworthy are issued road tax,  therefore, many cars that are currently on Nigerian roads (causing breakdowns and traffic jams) will not qualify to be issued road tax, so would have to be taken off the road. This in turn, will greatly reduce the horrendous traffic jam and pollution in many Nigerian cities. If a massive reduction of the number of such unfit cars is likely to lead to commuters having transportation problems, then government should increase public transportation system, such as buses to remedy the problem.  If motorists were paying for the usage of the road, by way of road tax, then they will be in a stronger position to challenge the government (including taking legal action), if it fails in its duty to maintain the roads.

Legislation and Possible Problems

It is important that the introduction of road tax is backed by legislation, in order for implementation to be meaningful. As with most Nigerian activities that involve large sums of money, there is the potential for large scale fraud. The outrageous level of fraud in Nigeria is to a large extent caused by lack of effective control and accountability mechanisms in the system, and the fact that there is no tough punishment available for multi-billion fraudsters. As a result, a pickpocket might be sent to jail for three years, while a N40bn thief is sent to one year jail term (if he is sent to jail at all).  The legislation should specify long jail term for anyone who misappropriates such funds. The punishment should not be at the discretion of a judge, but be specified by parliament. Personally, I would suggest a jail term of 20 – 40 years, depending on the amount of money stolen. Once 3 or 4 people are sent to such long jail terms, people will think twice before dipping their hands into public funds.

Computerised Car Registration System

Eventually, all car registrations in Nigeria would have to be computerised, for a road tax regime to be more effective. In the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe and North America, the police can determine whether or not a car has valid road tax, insurance and road worthiness certificate, simply by just capturing on their mobile cameras, the car number plate. This is because all the car details and particulars (including names and addresses of current and previous owners) are stored on a central computer database. It may take a while for Nigeria to get to that level, however, with the potential revenue that can accrue from the introduction of road tax, the country will be in a much better shape to invest in this technology.

Professor Efere is a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport UK