Ministry to close high Tonnage scales on roads

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: The control of high tonnage scales on Afghanistan’s roads will be transferred to the Ministry of Finance in an effort to end corruption and embezzlement at freight weighing stations, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works (MoPW), Mahdi Rohani, said.

Rohani said the Ministry of Transport will detain guilty drivers to prevent the use of overweight vehicles on the roads. High tonnage scales are the sources of large incomes of which, it is said, big amounts go into individual’s pockets. Although the Ministry of Public Works has made various plans to prevent the embezzlement of high tonnage scales, the ministry now concludes that some high-tonnage scales have to be shut down or the responsibility for managing the fees paid at these stations will be given to the Ministry of Finance.

Rohani added that nine high tonnage scales that in ports are being transferred to the Ministry of Finance and other twenty-two high tonnage scales that are installed along roads have already been shut down. “To preventing extortion on the highways, we do not collect the high tonnage scales fees. We only want to activate the high tonnage scales by remote if we identify overweight vehicles on the highways,” said Rohani. Many drivers who are aware the widespread corruption at high tonnage scales, say more of the collected money than before is going into individual’s pockets. “There are so many problems. I think that this money which is being paid at the is being collected for the sake of individuals,” said Abdul Razaq, a truck driver at the Kabul-Herat Highway. “In each district where the scales are installed on the road, the money taken is being collected by individuals,” said Aziz Ahmad, a driver at the Kabul-Herat highway. Due to the corruption on these scales, drivers and trucks are being forced to load more than the specified weight.