Western Cape road users will soon have to pay a provincial fuel tax of between 10 and 50 cents a litre in addition to the current national levy, the Cape Times reported on Wednesday.
Its website said Transport and Public Works MEC Marius Fransman announced this on Tuesday.
He said Finance Minister Trevor Manuel had approved a Western Cape government proposal to introduce the fuel levy.
Fransman said vehicle licence fees in the province, the highest in the country, would not be increased this year.
The money raised through the levy would be used to pay for the rehabilitation and upgrading of transport infrastructure and to develop a high quality public transport system.
Fransman said the provincial government had identified public transport as ”the most critical factor” in unlocking economic growth in the Western Cape.
Fransman said no amount had been decided on yet, adding that the proposal would now have to go through a process of public consultation.
Reports earlier this year, when the fuel levy was proposed, stated that it would be between 10c and 50c a litre.
The existing national fuel levy is R1,16 a litre. – Sapa