Godongwana wants fuel levies gone. They add R6.54 to every litre

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says government's long-term plan is to remove the levies on petrol, but he has given no date and no plan for replacing the money they raise.

"The long-term plan is to remove levies on petrol," he told 702 after last week's mid-term budget (EWN).

How much of your petrol price is levies?

At the full rates in force since 1 April 2026, three levies add R6.54 to every litre of petrol and R6.41 to every litre of diesel (SARS, Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources):

On a 50-litre tank of petrol, that comes to about R327.

What exactly did Godongwana say?

He singled out two levies (EWN):

• The RAF levy. He said government needs a different way to fund the Road Accident Fund instead of relying on the levy. "Just removing the Road Accident Fund, you'll realise a major decrease in the price of fuel," he said, putting the levy at R2 a litre. The official rate is R2.25.
• The general fuel levy. This goes into the national budget and raises about R80 billion, he said. "We've got to find a way of phasing it out. But in doing so, we will be losing about R80 billion."

He did not say how that gap would be filled. "How are we going to close that gap? That's a discussion we probably will have," he said.

He also backed building up local refining so South Africa relies less on imported petrol and diesel, calling it "a security question for the country" (EWN).

Will petrol get cheaper soon because of this?

Not because of this plan, which has no timetable yet.

What is already confirmed is the temporary relief from the 21 October mid-term budget (SAnews):

• 4 November to 1 December 2026: general fuel levy cut by R1.50 a litre on petrol and R3 a litre on diesel.
• After that, until 5 January 2027: cut by R1 a litre on petrol and R1.50 a litre on diesel.

During the first stage, total levies on petrol drop to about R5.04 a litre. The pump price you pay in November will still depend on oil prices and the rand, which are worked out in the monthly fuel price adjustment.

Why is it hard to scrap the fuel levy?

Because of the money. The general fuel levy goes into the national budget, so removing it would leave a hole of roughly R80 billion that Treasury would have to cover some other way. Godongwana said in the same interview that South Africa's debt levels limit how much more government can borrow (EWN).

The RAF levy is different: it pays road accident claims, so scrapping it depends on a new way of funding the fund.