It is official. The Roads Authority Levy of 40 cents per litre on fuel is effective today.
The levy aims to address the growing need for road repairs and improvements across Eswatini. The Minister of Finance, Neal Rijkenberg, has stated before that the country still has room to introduce the levy.
“At the moment, our fuel price is the lowest by E2 in the entire region, but to address our infrastructure challenges, we are introducing this 40-cent increase,” he said when delivering the budget speech in February.
The government’s focus on road maintenance is driven by the pressing need for upgrades and rehabilitation of key roads such as the Siphofaneni to Nsoko and Siphambanweni route.
Despite the introduction of the levy, the ministry assured consumers that fuel prices would remain unchanged for the month, as fuel products recorded slight over-recoveries.
Meanwhile, the Government of National Unity (GNU) in South Africa has passed the 2025/26 budget, which includes a 0.5% increase in Value Added Tax (VAT). Given the close trade ties and cross-border economic activities between the two countries, this VAT hike is expected to have indirect inflationary effects on Eswatini.
In light of this, Eswatini is also expected to adjust its VAT rate. This aligns with earlier remarks by the Minister of Finance, who indicated that the country will increase VAT if South Africa does.
These back-to-back economic developments have sparked concern among consumer advocates in Eswatini. Mandla Ntshakala, Chairman of the Eswatini Consumer Forum, expressed alarm over the growing cost burdens shouldered by ordinary citizens.
“This is a very serious issue, especially to the working class. Just recently, there was a tariff hike on electricity and water—now this. It’s a strain, and I don’t understand how they got to those 40 cents. You must be aware that any increase in energy products directly affects consumers because traders push that burden down to us. This means that all basic commodities will shoot up, creating serious stress to the working class, which may lead to family disputes, and ultimately suicide, mostly among the working class.”
Ntshakala urged the government to consider all the impacts of such increases on the social life of the ordinary citizens of our country. He said that the government can work on some remedies to cushion the public from such a burden. “We hope leaders of this country will support us as consumers,” he said.