Road heavyweights will have to pay up

OWNERS of heavy vehicles can expect to start digging a bit deeper into their pockets come April 1, when the Road Fund Administration (RFA) starts imposing its new Mass Distance Charges (MDC).

The MDC is an additional charge payable by all owners of vehicles with a tare exceeding 3 000 kg on top of the vehicle registration and licensing fees that are payable by all road users. The charge will also apply to trailers and semi-trailers weighing more than 2 000 kg.Billing this as a way to put heavy-vehicle owners on an equal footing with other road users, the RFA says that heavy vehicles bear more responsibility for damage done to roads.”They consume more of the road surface than the owners of lighter vehicles.Compared to lighter vehicles, they’ve had a pretty easy ride,” MDC Project Manager Arthur Loftie-Eaton said in Windhoek yesterday.He said although Namibia has some of the best developed and maintained roads in the SADC region, many of the country’s roads have already passed their lifespan and need to be upgraded to keep the roads safe and reliable.”One example is the road between Okahandja and Karibib, which was built in the 1960s already.That road is falling apart,” Loftie-Eaton said when asked about the need for the extra charges.”The question is not ‘can we afford to implement this programme’, but ‘can we afford not to’,” he said.Mass Distance Charges will be payable annually along with vehicle licensing fees, and will be calculated on the weight of the vehicle and the distance it has travelled.”Of course, scenarios may arise where some vehicle owners will pay for more kilometres than actually travelled per annum,” Loftie-Eaton said.He added that MDC rates would be based on estimated travelling distances for Namibian vehicles and calculated average distances per entry for foreign-registered vehicles.If people can provide proof that they travelled a shorter distance than they were billed for, they will be able to apply for a refund.”Provision is made in the Government notice for a refunding system under which the RFA may refund MDC if proven that distance travelled is less than the assumed and calculated distances,” he said.The RFA hopes to raise N$100 million from the new charges in the 2006-2007 financial year.It said that the system would be reviewed annually to decide whether it needed revising.The charge will also apply to trailers and semi-trailers weighing more than 2 000 kg.Billing this as a way to put heavy-vehicle owners on an equal footing with other road users, the RFA says that heavy vehicles bear more responsibility for damage done to roads.”They consume more of the road surface than the owners of lighter vehicles.Compared to lighter vehicles, they’ve had a pretty easy ride,” MDC Project Manager Arthur Loftie-Eaton said in Windhoek yesterday.He said although Namibia has some of the best developed and maintained roads in the SADC region, many of the country’s roads have already passed their lifespan and need to be upgraded to keep the roads safe and reliable.”One example is the road between Okahandja and Karibib, which was built in the 1960s already.That road is falling apart,” Loftie-Eaton said when asked about the need for the extra charges.”The question is not ‘can we afford to implement this programme’, but ‘can we afford not to’,” he said.Mass Distance Charges will be payable annually along with vehicle licensing fees, and will be calculated on the weight of the vehicle and the distance it has travelled.”Of course, scenarios may arise where some vehicle owners will pay for more kilometres than actually travelled per annum,” Loftie-Eaton said.He added that MDC rates would be based on estimated travelling distances for Namibian vehicles and calculated average distances per entry for foreign-registered vehicles.If people can provide proof that they travelled a shorter distance than they were billed for, they will be able to apply for a refund.”Provision is made in the Government notice for a refunding system under which the RFA may refund MDC if proven that distance travelled is less than the assumed and calculated distances,” he said.The RFA hopes to raise N$100 million from the new charges in the 2006-2007 financial year.It said that the system would be reviewed annually to decide whether it needed revising.