The Road Fund Administration (RFA) has raised concern about the possibility of losing revenue due to the expected boom in electric vehicles in Namibia.
RFA Chief Executive Officer Alli Iipinge acknowledged the inevitable arrival of EVs and their disruptive potential for the fund’s current funding approach, heavily reliant on fuel levies.
Iipinge thus appealed to lawmakers to proactively research, consult, and draft policies to prepare Namibia for the impending surge in electric vehicles (EVs).
“Many African states and entities dealing with roads have a common challenge of funding. As much as we are struggling now with revenue generation for road maintenance and construction, we have a problem approaching and it will be bigger.
Therefore, it is very important for our policymakers to prepare for what is coming so that we already have avenues on how we can survive,” said Iipinge.
RFA’s main source of income is on fuel levy which is at N$1.98 as well as the Road User Charging System. With the emergence of fuel-efficient vehicles, the entity has been pondering how to find ways in which it can still generate revenue to fill the void being created.
The Road User Systems was developed to recover the full cost of road expenditure from road users, which is subsequently used to construct and maintain national roads.
Iipinge’s fear is elevated by local fueling stations that are planning on establishing EV charging stations, a development that will see a rapid increase in such vehicles.
According to Sybrand de Waal, who has written extensively on EVs in Namibia, there are currently about 100EVs in Namibia, with an initial goal of 10,000EVs by 2030 which was later increased to 96,500 by 2025.
On the other hand, Namibia currently has about 400,000 combustion vehicles.
