GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS FOR CONSUMERS

CONSUMERS, already cash-strapped, will have to dig deeper into their pockets as fuel and electricity costs and toll road fees go up.

Fuel price increases are expected tomorrow. Last Friday, the Automobile Association said it expected the price of petrol to increase by 66c a litre and the price of diesel to rise by 57c a litre, hitting workers and the poor the hardest.

Toll fees were raised across the country from yesterday. As if that is not enough, South Africans are in for another hefty rise in the price of electricity, as the energy regulator has agreed to Eskom increasing its tariff by over 15% for the 2021/2022 financial year.

Under the agreement, an amount of 5.44c/kWh will be added to the average standard tariff, bringing the rate Eskom customers will be forced to pay as of April 1 to 134.30c/kWh – a 15.63% increase.

Economic Justice and Dignity Group programme co-ordinator Mervyn Abrahams said the increase in fuel costs would be felt throughout the economy, with an effect on the cost of food and transport.

“With electricity also expected to go up by 15%, most households will be poorer by the end of the year. What makes things worse is that for people on social grants, the below-inflation increase in social grants announced by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni means households are poorer now than last year. Last week’s Budget was the worst since the dawn of democracy in South Africa,” Abrahams said.

These tough economic times, exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, have worsened the lives of South Africans and people the world over.

But there is a glimmer of hope. Last night, President Cyril Ramaphosa eased lockdown restrictions by moving the country to alert level 1. The country recorded under 10 000 new infections in the past week compared to 40 000 at end of January and 90 000 in the last week of December.

Ramaphosa said they recently signed an agreement with Johnson & Johnson to secure 11 million doses of vaccine, with at least 2.8 million doses to be delivered in the second quarter and the rest spread throughout the year. This will protect our people against the virus and save more lives.