OUTA opposes new vehicle fee to fund the RAF

Government is reportedly studying other ways to fund the RAF. The options include a charge on vehicle registration or licence renewal, and a levy on foreign-registered vehicles that enter South Africa. Duvenage called the plan to look beyond the fuel levy a knee-jerk reaction that does not address the fund's real problems.

Duvenage said the RAF has been grossly mismanaged. He said repeated fuel levy increases let government avoid dealing with the problem. He described the R2,500 figure as an illustration, not a confirmed amount.

He also said an annual fee would be less fair than the fuel levy, because every motorist would pay the same. In his words: "If you drive 150 kilometres a month and somebody drives 10,000 kilometres a month, you're both going to pay the same".

Duvenage said higher costs could push some motorists to avoid the fee, which would make enforcement harder. He said electric vehicles are not yet a major threat to funding, because they are less than 0.5% of the national fleet. He called that a longer-term challenge.