- Fuel Levy, Road Levy to be diverted to NPF
- Govt owes fuel companies over P1.3 billion
- Fuel companies may face operational challenges
- Levies amounting to over P230m diverted
- Some road projects may be halted as Road Levy is diverted to NPF
In order to replenish the depleted National Petroleum Fund (NPF), the cabinet has decided to divert levies in the fuel slate to the NPF in order to replenish it and pay off billions owed to fuel companies, the Acting Minister for Minerals and Energy, Thulagano Segokgo, has said.
Holding a press conference on behalf of Minister Lefoko Moagi in Gaborone recently, Segokgo was responding to a question from The Business Weekly & Review that sought to understand how much the government owes oil companies in under-recoveries and how the government intends to finance the debt. The minister said the cabinet has made a decision to divert funds from some levies in the fuel slate every month until the debt is cleared. The fuel slate collects levies that amount to over P230 million per month. Segokgo said about P130 million has already been diverted from the Security of Supply Margin (SSM) levy to pay off debt.
“A decision has been made by cabinet to divert some levies from the fuel slate into the NPF,” he stated. “Those levies make about P230 million a monthly, I think. We will do that for a few months until the oil companies’ debt is paid off. It will take about 19 months.” Asked how much the government owes fuel companies in under-recoveries, he said the debt at that Monday was over P1.3 billion, noting that the debt keeps accumulating with the under-recoveries. For the P1.3 billion debt to be cleared, the levies will have to be diverted for at least 10 months.
