South Africa Road Accident Fund Eyes US$0.18 Fuel Levy
SOUTH AFRICA · FUEL AND PUBLIC FINANCES
Key Facts
- —The country South Africa is a G20 economy where drivers pay several state levies on every litre of petrol and diesel, set by National Treasury.
- —What happened On Tuesday 6 October, News24 reported the Road Accident Fund is eyeing a fuel levy of R3 (about US$0.18) a litre.
- —The current levy The levy rose 7 cents to R2.25 (about US$0.14) a litre on 1 April 2026; R3 (about US$0.18) would be a third more.
- —The backlog The fund’s annual report, presented to Parliament’s transport committee on Tuesday, shows more than 422,000 open claims, 59% of them older than five years.
- —The debt In February, Treasury estimated the fund’s liabilities for 2025/26 at R387.4 billion (about US$23 billion), against assets of R19.2 billion (about US$1.2 billion).
- —What it means for US readers A higher levy would raise fuel costs for US firms and visitors, and the fund’s debts are a risk that bond investors watch.
- —Still open The deputy transport minister favours a smaller levy, and Treasury, which sets fuel levies, has announced no change to it.
South Africa’s Road Accident Fund, which pays crash victims, is eyeing a fuel levy of R3 (about US$0.18) a litre, News24 reported. That is a third more than the current R2.25 (about US$0.14) that every driver pays.
For US firms, visitors and bond investors, the idea lands as pump prices hit records and the fund’s debts weigh on public finances. News24’s report on Tuesday 6 October followed the fund’s annual report hearing in Parliament’s transport committee that day.
What the Road Accident Fund Is Eyeing
News24, a South African news site, said the fund is eyeing a levy of R3 (about US$0.18) a litre. The same report said 23 suspended staff are costing taxpayers R26 million (about US$1.6 million) a year.
The Road Accident Fund levy is one of several taxes built into South Africa’s regulated fuel price. National Treasury, the finance ministry, raised it by 7 cents to R2.25 (about US$0.14) a litre on 1 April 2026.
Treasury sets the levy every year. The fund requests an increase annually based on its own funding model, and the full amount is seldom granted, the fund says.
The general fuel levy, a separate tax, stands at R4.10 (about US$0.25) a litre for petrol and R3.93 (about US$0.24) for diesel. A levy of R3 (about US$0.18) for the fund would add 75 cents (about US$0.05) to every litre.
A higher levy for the fund would come on top of record petrol prices that took effect on Wednesday 7 October. Dollar figures here use about 16.5 rand to the US dollar on 7 October 2026.
Treasury cut the general fuel levy temporarily from 1 April 2026 to soften a fuel price shock, but that relief has ended. It never covered the Road Accident Fund levy.
Why the Fund Is Short of Money
The Road Accident Fund presented its 2025/26 annual report to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport on Tuesday 6 October. That committee is the group of MPs that oversees the transport ministry and its agencies.
According to EWN, a South African radio news service, more than 422,000 claims were still open. Claims older than five years made up 59% of them.
The fund compensated just over 133,000 claims during the year, up from about 116,800 a year earlier. It said legal and other claims costs averaged about 16% of compensation over the past five years.
Treasury’s 2026 Budget Review, published in February, estimated the fund’s liabilities for 2025/26 at R387.4 billion (about US$23 billion). It put the fund’s assets at R19.2 billion (about US$1.2 billion).
News24 separately reported on Monday 5 October that the fund now owes R449 billion (about US$27 billion) in outstanding claims.
Suspended Staff Still on the Payroll
Staff suspensions have become a political issue at the fund. In a written reply to Parliament published in September, the transport minister said 16 employees were suspended.
The reply put the cost of their salaries and other pay at R28.5 million (about US$1.7 million). It put the total paid to them since their suspensions at R29.1 million (about US$1.8 million).
The first suspension dates from May 2024, and all of them are with pay pending disciplinary processes, the reply said. Monthly salaries range from R48,796 (about US$2,950) to R333,874 (about US$20,200) before tax.
News24 puts the number of suspended staff at 23. Transport Minister Barbara Creecy dissolved the fund’s board in July 2025, citing persistent governance and operational problems, SABC News reported at the time.
The government hopes to appoint a permanent board by the end of 2026, according to The Citizen.
Government Leans Toward a Smaller Levy
The levy idea cuts against recent signals from government. Deputy Transport Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa, whose ministry oversees the fund, favours a hybrid model with a smaller levy and new revenue sources.
“A hybrid, as far as I am concerned, should be the priority consideration,” he told Moneyweb. The Citizen republished Moneyweb’s report on Monday 5 October.
Options under study include third-party vehicle insurance and requiring foreign visitors to carry travel insurance. A cost-benefit study will accompany the Road Accident Benefit Scheme Bill, a planned law setting fixed benefits for crash victims.
At the hearing on Tuesday 6 October, Mathabatha Mokonyama, the transport department’s acting director-general, said amendments to the Road Accident Fund Act are being finalised. “The Act in its current form makes the scheme not sustainable,” he told MPs, Parliament reported.
The changes cover capped claims, rehabilitation, mediation and conciliation, and claims by foreign nationals. Parliament said they will soon be tabled before the transport committee.
The African National Congress (ANC), President Cyril Ramaphosa’s party and the largest in the coalition government, wants relief at the pump. It has urged Treasury to consider cutting the fuel and Road Accident Fund levies, East Coast Radio reported.
Cosatu, a trade union federation allied to the ANC, also wants fuel levy relief. Its parliamentary coordinator, Matthew Parks, made the case on the radio station 702, EWN reported.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), a civil-society watchdog, opposes taking the levy out of the fuel price. Its chief executive, Wayne Duvenage, told 702 that better management could cut it by R1 (about US$0.06) a litre, EWN reported.
What It Means for US Readers
For US companies in South Africa, the Road Accident Fund levy is a cost on every litre their trucks, vans and rental fleets burn. A rise to R3 (about US$0.18) would add to transport costs at a time of record pump prices.
American visitors are affected too, because foreigners who are hurt in crashes in South Africa can claim from the fund. A parliamentary reply shows foreigner-related claims worth R23.3 billion (about US$1.4 billion) were lodged between April 2021 and March 2026.
The fund paid out R6.3 billion (about US$383 million) on foreigner-related claims over the same period. Hlengwa has linked the travel-insurance idea to claims paid to foreign nationals.
For bond investors, Treasury lists the fund among the state’s contingent liabilities, at R357.8 billion (about US$22 billion) for 2025/26. Its 2026 Budget Review says the fund “continues to be deep in deficit”.
Treasury expects gross government debt to stabilise at 78.9% of GDP in 2025/26. Its forecasts show the fund’s net liabilities growing to R405.1 billion (about US$24.5 billion) by 2028/29.
What Is Not Known
It is unclear whether the R3 (about US$0.18) figure has already gone to Treasury as a formal request.
Treasury normally sets fuel levies in its February budget and has announced no change to the Road Accident Fund levy since then.
The government’s cost-benefit study of new funding options has no published date. No date has been given for tabling the Road Accident Fund Act amendments or the Road Accident Benefit Scheme Bill.
More: South Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is South Africa’s Road Accident Fund?
It is a state fund that compensates road users for losses from motor vehicle accidents in South Africa. It is paid for through a levy on every litre of petrol and diesel.
How much is the Road Accident Fund levy now?
It is R2.25 (about US$0.14) a litre on petrol and diesel from 1 April 2026, according to National Treasury’s February budget. News24 reported that the fund is eyeing R3 (about US$0.18).
Can American tourists claim from the Road Accident Fund?
Foreign visitors hurt in road crashes in South Africa have claimed from the fund, parliamentary replies by the transport minister show. The government is studying whether visitors should carry travel insurance, and planned law changes cover claims by foreign nationals.
Will South African fuel get more expensive because of this?
Not straight away, because Treasury sets fuel levies, normally in its February budget. The deputy transport minister also favours a smaller Road Accident Fund levy, not a bigger one.
Why do suspended staff matter?
Suspended staff keep receiving pay while disciplinary cases run. A parliamentary reply put the cost for 16 staff at R28.5 million (about US$1.7 million), and News24 reports 23 suspended staff.
Sources: News24 (Jan Cronje), report on the RAF levy idea and 23 suspended staff, 6 October 2026; EWN, “More than half of open RAF claims are now older than 5 years, annual report reveals”, 6 October 2026; Parliamentary Monitoring Group, Portfolio Committee on Transport meeting on DoT, SANRAL, RAF and ACSA 2025/26 annual reports, 6 October 2026; Parliament of South Africa, “RAF Legislation to Be Amended to Resolve Payments to Illegal Residents, as Recently Instructed by Courts”, 6 October 2026; National Treasury, 2026 Budget Review, 25 February 2026; National Treasury and Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, short-term fuel levy relief statement, 31 March 2026; National Treasury, extension of the short-term fuel levy relief, 28 April 2026; Minister of Transport, written reply 4591 on suspended RAF staff (via PMG), September 2026; Minister of Transport, written replies 4734 and 4735 on foreigner-related RAF claims (via PMG), September 2026; The Citizen (Moneyweb), “Government considers cutting or scrapping RAF fuel levy”, 5 October 2026; EWN, “Fix the Road Accident Fund, not the revenue collection system, says OUTA”, 6 October 2026; EWN, “Cosatu calls for fuel levy relief”, 6 October 2026; East Coast Radio, “ANC calls for cuts to fuel and RAF levies”, 6 October 2026; SABC News, “Creecy dissolves Road Accident Fund board of directors”, 15 July 2025.
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