The Road Fund Administration (RFA) says it anticipates recording a shortfall of around N$2.2 billion in revenue for the financial year ending 31 March 2023.
The Fund said it estimates collections for the period to come in around N$2.3 billion out of the N$4.5 billion budgeted to ensure improved allocation to approved authorities.
“For the current financial year estimate of about N$4.5 billion will be in order to ensure improved allocation to approved authorities, our collection was in the region of N$2.3 billion, thus a shortfall of close to around N$2 billion,” the Manager of Corporate Services at the RFA, Scheifert Shigwedha, told The Brief.
RFA requires approximately N$4.3 billion to fund its projects and has mooted the implementation of toll gates as a means of boosting its revenue. The fund bemoaned the advent of electric vehicles, arguing that it is losing revenue due to a cut-down in fuelling.
On whether the tollgates are still on the cards, Shigwedha noted that the fund is set to communicate its position in due course.
This comes as RFA in May increased the road user charge to N$1.78 from N$1.48, in an effort to meet its funding requirements for road rehabilitations, upgrades and maintenance.
Over its existence RFA has invested more than N$30 billion in road infrastructure in the country, leading Namibia to be ranked number one in Africa and 21 in the world in terms of the quality of road infrastructure.
According to the fund, Namibia’s road network of approximately 49,000km is valued at N$101 billion, of which about 83% is unpaved.
As a result, the Roads Authority (RA) last month launched a N$15 billion five-year Integrated Strategic Business Plan (ISBP) which seeks to expand the national road network as well as upgrade gravel roads to bitumen standards.
The funds will be sourced from the RFA which will provide N$10.27 billion, and an additional N$1.22 billion through loans and grants, whereas the government will provide funding of N$2.78 billion over the five-year duration ending in 2026/27.
In five years, RA plans to construct and upgrade 700km to bitumen standard, 215km of gravel road, rehabilitate 715km, and re-gravel 2,800km, as well as rejuvenate 635km to low seal bitumen standard.
This development comes as the RFA had pocketed N$1.3 billion in revenue from fuel levies in the previous fiscal year, resulting in an 11% increase in revenue to N$2.4 billion.
The fund has, however, doubled its funding to local authorities to N$216 million for road upgrades.
