Maimane calls for cut in two fuel levies
DA leader Mmusi Maimane has called for an urgent reduction in fuel levies and urged all South Africans to join his party in a mass protest against record high fuel prices at the Treasury’s offices next week. About 33% of the fuel price is made up of two levies: the general fuel levy and the Road Accident Fund levy.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane has called for an urgent reduction in fuel levies and urged all South African citizens to join his party in a mass protest against record high fuel prices at the Treasury’s offices next week.
About 33% of the fuel price is made up of two levies: the general fuel levy and the Road Accident Fund (RAF) levy. Levies and duties account for R5.30 of every litre of 95 octane petrol‚ or R265 of every 50l fuel tank.
Speaking at a media briefing alongside members of Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse in Tshwane on Tuesday‚ Maimane said “exorbitant” fuel levies could not be justified.
“When Cyril Ramaphosa was elected president‚ the price of petrol per litre was R14.12. It now costs over R16 per litre to refuel with 95 octane unleaded petrol in Gauteng. This equates to‚ on average‚ almost R100 more every time you fill your tank. Every cent of this massive increase is absorbed by ordinary South Africans‚ either directly through increased transport costs‚ or indirectly by the resulting rising food prices.”
He said it was the poor who bore the brunt of “this onslaught” as they spend a disproportionately large amount of their income on food and transport.
“This is simply not sustainable. Poor South Africans are already stretched to breaking point by a stagnant economy and spiralling unemployment,” Maimane said.
“When you factor in the staggering mismanagement and corruption at the RAF, these exorbitant levies simply cannot be justified. Last year alone the RAF made a loss of R30bn — the biggest loss of any state-owned entity – and they have been running at a deficit for five consecutive years,” he said.
He said the government should reduce the RAF and general fuel levies by R1 per litre; table an urgent debate in Parliament to consider the structure of the levies; and place the RAF under independent and external administration.
“We call on all South Africans to join us in mass protest outside National Treasury’s offices in Tshwane on July 31 at 10am, where we will be calling for an immediate reduction in the fuel levies. We invite NGOs‚ political parties‚ religious bodies‚ taxi associations‚ civil society organisations and ordinary South Africans to join this protest.”