Fuel levy windfall: Metros to share nearly R16bn for road maintenance

National allocation sends almost R16bn to South Africa’s eight metros

The country’s eight metropolitan municipalities will share nearly R16 billion in general fuel levy revenue allocated by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to fund road maintenance for the 2024/25 financial year.

How the money is split

Godongwana’s allocations show the largest shares going to Gauteng and KwaZulu‑Natal metros. The distribution is as follows:

• City of Johannesburg: nearly R4.7bn
• eThekwini Metro: just under R4.1bn
• City of Cape Town: over R3bn
• City of Tshwane: R1.87bn
• Ekurhuleni Metro: R1.79bn
• Nelson Mandela Bay Metro: R853.5m
• Buffalo City Metro: R828m
• Mangaung: R414.4m

What the general fuel levy is and how allocations are set

The general fuel levy is described as a general tax intended to fund road maintenance, but it is not ring‑fenced and flows directly into the National Revenue Fund. Under the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, revenue from the levy is credited to metropolitan municipalities as a direct charge against the National Revenue Fund.

The allocation percentage is fixed at 23%, although the minister may revise it annually and must publish any changes in the Government Gazette. The minister must also determine an equitable allocation to each metropolitan municipality for each financial year.

Recent changes and temporary relief measures

During his Budget Speech in February, Godongwana announced increases to the general fuel levy nine cents per litre for petrol and eight cents per litre for diesel taking the levy to R4.10/litre for petrol and R3.93/litre for diesel from April.

Following the start of the United States and Israel’s war against Iran, Godongwana and Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe announced temporary relief measures that reduced the levy for short periods in April, May and June to provide limited short‑term relief to households. The ministers said the relief measure was designed to be fiscally neutral and that the government would implement mechanisms to recoup the foregone revenue within the 2026 Budget framework.

“As a result, the amount of relief from the general fuel levy will be reduced to R1.50 per litre for petrol and R1.96 per litre for diesel, effective from June 3 to June 30. This will increase the general fuel levy for petrol from R1.10 per litre to R2.60 per litre and increase the general fuel levy for diesel from zero per litre to R1.97 per litre,” Godongwana said.

It is expected that from July onwards the general fuel levy will return to R4.10/litre for petrol and R3.93/litre for diesel.

Implications

The allocations provide a sizeable targeted injection of fuel levy revenue to metropolitan municipalities for road maintenance, delivered through the National Revenue Fund according to the statutory allocation mechanism set out in the Taxation Laws Amendment Act.