DA: Name the diesel diluters to protect motorists

The DA is demanding that mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe name the petrol stations found to have diluted diesel, to protect motorists.

But the department’s director for fuel pricing, Robert Maake, said the department obtained a legal opinion that publication of the names was not possible under the Protection of Personal Information Act.

Maake confirmed a News24 report that the department had found 70 petrol stations had diluted their diesel with illuminating paraffin. This was during the annual sampling of petrol stations in the country that the department conducts. There are more than 4,000 petrol stations in the country,

Maake said the sampling found that between April and December 2023, 70 filling stations across the country were selling diesel diluted with illuminating paraffin, which can cause serious mechanical damage to vehicles.

The department has indicated that the practice is a form of tax evasion.

The department tests fuel samples and it received 70 failed diesel samples and issued noncompliance notices to the filling stations involved.

The failed samples showed an adulteration of diesel with illuminating paraffin.

The provincial breakdown of the petrol stations involved in the practice was as follows: Mpumalanga — 9; Limpopo — 15; North West 13; KwaZulu-Natal 13; Gauteng 5; Western Cape 4; Free State 4; Eastern Cape 1; and Northern Cape 6.

Maake said that petrol stations issued with a noncompliance notice were given 14 days to rectify the situation.

They were also given the opportunity to have the sample retested independently by a laboratory.

“If you persist, then the minister can cancel your licence,” said Maake.

He said it was not a matter of reporting these cases to the police. It would become a court case if the cancellation of the licence were disputed. In some cases, the operator of the petrol station was changed.

In terms of independent fuel wholesalers, since March 2022 about 11 licences were cancelled.

DA member of the Western Cape provincial legislature and spokesperson on mobility Derrick America said in an interview that he together with the DA’s representative in parliament would ask Mantashe to disclose the names of the petrol stations involved, both in the Western Cape and nationally so that motorists could be aware of those who were involved in the malpractice.

The party also wants full disclosure of the investigation and to know what action is being taken against the petrol stations engaged in such activity to increase their profits.

America said the blending of fuels “not only jeopardises the safety of vehicles but also constitutes illegal and fraudulent activity that exploits consumers financially. [It] poses a serious threat to vehicle engines, potentially causing significant mechanical problems.

“Minister Gwede Mantashe must ensure these petrol stations are named so that residents of the Western Cape can be made aware of the stations that are selling fake diesel,” America said.

“Not only are these fake diesel fuels being sold at the exact same price as approved diesel fuels, but could be very harmful to vehicles.

“We need to protect consumers from such hazardous and deceptive practices, ensuring the wellbeing of both their vehicles and finances.”