Transporters freighting goods into Namibia will pay 4.3% more in road user charges from tomorrow (May 1) as the Road Fund Administration (RFA) raises additional funds to maintain the country’s road infrastructure.
RFA CEO Ali Ipinge said in a statement that Namibia’s Road Fund derived about 60% of its income from the fuel levy which would be increased from R1.30 to R1.36 per litre.
Other road user charges that have been adjusted include cross-border charges, abnormal load charges and road carrier permits.
Ipinge conceded that the continued increase in road user charges – especially fuel levies - would not be not sustainable in the long run, pointing out that the road administrator was exploring the addition of toll gates as a long-term solution.
"Looking at the Windhoek-Okahandja road specifically, it has been upgraded from two lanes to eight lanes, so maintenance costs are going to increase quite substantially," he said.
But many road users are based in Windhoek and do not use that route. Therefore increasing fuel levies to meet the increased costs would be “unfair”.
