Proposed 4.5% average increase in motor vehicle licence fees

Statement by Minister Donald Grant, Minister of Transport and Public Works

The Provincial Government gazette has published the draft regulation pertaining to motor vehicle licence (MVL) fee increases in the province. The draft regulation is now open for public comment until Monday, 15 January 2018. While not required by law, we have continued to publish these draft regulations for comment so as to allow the close to 2 million vehicle owners in the Western Cape the opportunity to submit their comments. This year, the proposed fee increases amount to an average 4.5% increase for the Western Cape.

The Western Cape Provincial Government relies on vehicle licence fees to:

• Build, upgrade and maintain the provincially-owned road network.
• Assist municipalities to fund the maintenance of their more strategic roads.
• Continue to reduce the maintenance backlog, which has been decreased by over 16% over the last 7 years.

These fees, along with budgetary allocations, help keep the Province’s roads in a condition significantly above that of other provinces, with many visitors to this province attesting to this freely and frequently. Our roads are an asset with an approximate value of R68 billion and they are consumed, over time, by the close to 2 million vehicle owners in the Western Cape and other users

National Treasury Regulation 7.3.1 requires that all fees that are not or cannot be fixed by any law and that relate to revenue accruing to the revenue fund must be reviewed annually and submitted to the Cabinet via the Provincial Treasury.

The draft regulation has been published in the Provincial Gazette Extraordinary 7851 dated 1 December 2017 for public comment.

The draft regulation proposing the new motor vehicle registration and licence fees, as well as other information, are attached.

Any person or organisation wishing to comment on these draft regulations is requested to lodge such comments on or before Monday 15 January 2018—

(a) by posting it to:

The Head of Department

Attention: Mr MJ Gallant

Western Cape Department of Transport and

Public Works

PO Box 2603

Cape Town

8000,

(b) by emailing it to:

Michael.Gallant@westerncape.gov.za

or

(c) by faxing it to:

Fax number: 021 483 7103