Fuel price biting hard

WITH the new fuel prices at an all-time high, predictions that the country can expect another huge hike next month is like rubbing salt into the wound. The inland price for a litre of 95 octane unleaded petrol costs R16.02 and R15.43 on the coast, easily the highest in the country’s history.

It is accepted that the government is subject to the vagaries of world markets and therefore cannot do much about the escalating fuel price. However, this is cold comfort to hard-pressed consumers, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet. The latest hike will hit all consumers – not just motorists. But, as usual, it is the poorest who will suffer most.

As Cosatu points out, the increase in the paraffin price will leave poor families worse off. The expected cold weather will force many to turn to coal to keep warm, exposing them to carbon monoxide poisoning, while their purchasing power reduces further because of the expected increases in the price of goods that fuel hikes inevitably herald.

This will further slow down a desperately needed economic recovery. A further blow to their pockets will come when taxi and bus operators increase their fares to offset the fuel price hikes. Cosatu says it expects the government to at least cushion the effects of the hikes by adjusting social grants and considering payroll tax cuts or other assistance for lower-income households.

Unfortunately, it is taxes that pay for grants. Lowering taxes and simultaneously increasing grants is asking for too much.

However, the government can do much better to improve the services offered by our public transport systems, in particular trains, particularly in poorer communities and rural areas. Make them safer and more reliable, and more people will get on to rail and off the roads.

The government can also help by cleaning up the Road Accident Fund, which gobbles up millions of rand in fraud, corruption and profligacy. Clean up the rot at the fund and recoup some of the lost money, and perhaps the levy in the fuel price used to fund it could be reduced.

In the meantime, motorists must consider reducing the number of trips made to reduce the fuel burden. If possible, switch to a smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle and consider forming lift clubs. Also ensure that vehicles are mechanically sound and tyres are inflated to the correct pressure to reduce fuel consumption.

With no immediate fuel price relief on the horizon, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promised New Dawn is, sadly, turning out to be a mere chimera for hard-pressed consumers.