Activists put brakes on future petrol price hikes
A GROUP of activists opposed to the petrol price hike have accelerated efforts to derail further attempts to increase the price again in 2018.
Their determination was fuelled by talk that another hike is planned for next month.
On Wednesday, the price of petrol rose by 82 cents per litre‚ motorists having to pay R15.54 a litre.
This was the third increase this year.
Paraffin shot up by R1.09 a litre while diesel increased by 87c.
ANC activist Visvin Reddy and other disgruntled members of the public staged a demonstration on the Higginson Highway in Chatsworth on Friday.
Reddy said they would not take their foot off the pedal in showing their discontent, once again on the Higginson Highway, near the Havenside off-ramp, on Thursday at 4pm.
“We hope many people will join our resistance to the notion that fuel price increases can be implemented without consulting with us the consumers,” he said.
Reddy warned motorists, saying if they took what he called the government’s “unilateral” decision to increase the price of petrol lying down, it would take it for granted and continue with increases willy-nilly.
“By the time we wake up, a litre of petrol will cost R20.”
The increase comes as consumers are still reeling from the effects of the VAT increase, which moved up from 14% to 15% in February.
Reddy said he was encouraged by the reaction they received from motorists.
He said the underprivileged would feel the pinch because at each petrol price increase the price of food also spiked.
Reddy called on the Ancled government to review the pricing model of petrol.
“The ANC, which is a propoor organisation, needs to stand up and condemn these increases, just as it did in 1992 in condemning the National Party over fuel increases.”
Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said the increases were fuelled by certain factors.
“International factors include the fact that South Africa imports both crude oil and finished products at a price set at the international level, including importation costs, for example, shipping costs,” he said.
The main reason, Radebe said, for the fuel price adjustments was prompted by the contribution of the rand/us dollar exchange rate.
“The rand depreciated, on average, against the US dollar from R11.99 to R12.51 during the period under review.”
The Energy Department urged motorists to use fuel efficiently by applying fuel-saving tips such as forming lift clubs and using public transport whenever they could.
Paul Makube, senior agricultural economist at FNB, said: “The consumer will be hardest hit as disposable income is eroded by consecutive fuel price increases, and the daily cost of transporting, packaging and distributing food will be passed on.
“This will ultimately feed into inflation which has been relatively low and comfortably within the SA Reserve Bank’s target range of between 3% to 6% at a low of 3.8% year on year, during March 2018.”