• September 2008 laws already set $185-$340 axle tax on trucks >3.5t, but never applied.
• Kongo Central was picked first because Matadi port handles the bulk of the national freight.
• FONER plans a September 2025 start after the August 15-September 5 FEC outreach campaign

On July 23, 2025, the National Road Maintenance Fund (FONER) announced that it will start collecting the annual axle-load fee in Kongo Central province. Georgine Selemani, the Fund’s Deputy Director-General, made this statement during a meeting with Governor Grace Bilolo. This tax is established under Article 16 of the law passed on July 7, 2008, which created FONER. It mainly targets heavy goods vehicles. Although an inter-ministerial decree detailing its implementation was adopted on March 6, 2009, it has never been enforced. In FONER's June 2022 annual report, published in June 2024, this fee was still listed as one of its dormant revenue sources.

According to Articles 24 and 25 of the implementing decree, the fee is levied on vehicles with a payload exceeding 3.5 tonnes, such as trucks and heavy transport equipment. The amounts, listed in US dollars but payable in Congolese francs, vary depending on vehicle configuration: 185 dollars for two-axle vehicles, 270 dollars for three-axle vehicles, and 340 dollars for articulated vehicles.

Georgine Selemani explained that the measure aims to sustain road infrastructure, which experiences heavy traffic from large vehicles. She emphasised that this fee is vital for providing consistent funding for maintaining the road network, aligning with FONER’s primary objective. However, she did not explain why the collection will begin in Kongo Central. It is, however, known that the province includes the port of Matadi, the main entry and exit point for goods coming into and leaving Kinshasa and across the country.

Awareness campaign

A campaign to raise awareness of the regulatory texts is planned before the collection begins. The outreach will mainly target economic operators, including members of the Federation of Congolese Enterprises (FEC), to inform them about the implementation of the fee. However, no details were provided regarding the campaign’s start date or the effective date of the tax.

Beyond financial issues, the meeting between FONER and the provincial government served as a chance to assess the status of several ongoing road projects in Kongo Central. Managed by the Roads Office, many of these projects face delays caused by administrative challenges or lack of funding. FONER reiterated its dedication to mobilising the necessary resources to restart some projects, with the goal of improving the accessibility and quality of the province's road network.

FONER, established under the same 2008 law, is tasked with mobilising resources for maintaining and protecting national, provincial, and urban roads. Its main funding sources are fuel levies (on petrol, diesel, LPG), tolls, weigh-station operations, axle-load fees, and penalties for improper use of the road network. 

Ronsard Luabeya, intern