The latest fuel prices increase kicked in yesterday amid worries that it would put more pressure on already financially burdened citizens.
The department of mineral resources & energy and energy (DMRE) announced that the price for both grades of fuel had gone up by 75c/l, hiking the price of 95 unleaded to R20.29 and 93 unleaded to R20.07.
The wholesale price of diesel went up by 73c/l for high-sulphur fuel and 75c/l for low-sulphur diesel, while illuminating paraffin increased by 42.20c/l. This led to diesel prices rising to R17.92/l (high-sulphur) and R17.98/l (low-sulphur).
The petrol price hikes led to calls for government to reduce taxes to ease pressure on cash-strapped consumers. As much as petrol costs are decided based on international oil prices, value of the rand to the US dollar and local levies, the Automobile Association (AA) said the oil price played almost no role in the latest price increases.
The AA then called for an assessment of the price structure and reduction in the two main taxes, the General Fuel Levy and Road Accident Fund levy, which it said together made up about 30% of the price.
Eye Witness News reported yesterday that civil society group Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse's CEO Wayne Duvenage had written to finance minister Enoch Godongwana calling for a stop to the annual hike in the fuel levies.
We support the calls for a reduction in petrol levies; any relief that would help ease the financial burden on citizens is welcome. As we all know, petrol price increases do not only affect motorists but food and transport prices too.
As much as we understand that the country is in a bad state financially and the taxes are playing a role elsewhere, the citizens are worse off. Many people lost their jobs and some are now earning lower salaries due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and unemployment is also at its peak at 34.4 %, affecting many households.
In the current economic climate, many companies were not able to offer wage increases to their employees, so many homes are still on the same income as last year. An increase in food prices will leave many families with less or no food at all. Transport fare hikes will also leave commuters using public transport to get to work worse off.
So, we call on the minister to listen to citizens' cry for help and look into the plea for a decrease in fuel prices. This would save residents from falling deeper into debt.
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