Motorists’ joy as fuel prices drop
But others want more cuts in months ahead
News of a substantial drop in the price of fuel this week has been welcomed by motorists in Johannesburg.
While others see a huge relief in their pockets, others want the price to drop further. Gauteng motorists will be paying R1.84 less for both 93 and 95 octane petrol per litre from Wednesday.
The energy department said the price of diesel would drop by R1.45 and R1.47 respectively and paraffin by R1.78. LP gas would drop by R2.43 p/kg. Motorist Abdoul Fahd, who is originally from the Free State, said he was relieved that the petrol price was dropping. He said before President Cyril Ramaphosa came to power, he used to fill up his car with R650. But this year, he has been forking out about R870.
“It is a huge relief. It will make a big difference in our pockets. There will be money to spare this festive season,” Fahd told Sowetan yesterday. Mandla Zokufa said: “This is good news. It is the best news ever since President Cyril Ramaphosa took over. It has been hard for me. There were days that I had to park my car at home and used public transport because of the price of petrol.”
However, Njabulo Ndlovu of Johannesburg does not believe a R1.84 decrease in petrol will make a huge difference. “I am not excited because R1.84 is a small amount. I will celebrate the day it goes down by R20.” A motorist, who asked not to be named, said: “I’m not entirely excited because we will feel the pinch of petrol price. I appeal to government for more cuts on the price of petrol.” The energy department said the average international product prices for petrol‚ diesel and illuminating paraffin had decreased during the period under review.
“The rand appreciated against the US dollar during the period under review‚ on average‚ when compared to the previous period‚” the department said. “This led to a lower contribution to the basic fuel prices on petrol‚ diesel and illuminating paraffin.” The Automobile Association (AA) said last week the outlook for fuel pricing in the new year remained uncertain. “The see-saw ride in fuel prices over the past year has shown just how great the impact of international petroleum pricing and the rand/US dollar exchange rate is on the lives of ordinary citizens. The outlook for fuel pricing into 2019 remains cloudy‚ but we are hopeful that some stability will return‚” AA said.