Usually, the adjusted fuel price is announced at the end of the month, but here we are as the calendar flips and there has been no official statement regarding the change.
South African regulations dictate that the price of fuel, specifically petrol, can be adjusted only once a month, on the first Wednesday of the month. This usually gives motorists some wiggle room to plan their budget, but in April, the first Wednesday of the month is also the first day of the month.
And yet, no information has been given to local motorists regarding the adjusted fuel price. The delay appears to have been caused by the government considering its options regarding the increase.
As reported Reuters on TuesdayFinance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, is expected to announce a reduction in the fuel levy to cushion the impact of the oil price, which is trading at $101 per barrel at the time of writing, according to “a senior government official”.
While fuel forms the bulk of the fuel price, the rest of the price you pay at the pump includes general fuel levy, road accident fund levy and more. These levies were to increase on April 1.
However, fuel prices have increased to more than R7 for 95 and 93 grade fuel and R15 for diesel. Central Energy Fund dataGovernment intervention is necessary.
Last week, Mark Burke, the Democratic Alliance's finance spokesman, recommended cutting the fuel levy by 50 per cent.
Burke wrote, “The two levies (the Road Accident Fund Levy and the General Fuel Levy) combined contribute R6,35 to the total price of fuel. A 50% cut would reduce the increase to R3,17 and provide immediate and needed relief to South Africans who are facing a massive petrol shock in a week's time: petrol is set to increase by more than R5 per liter and diesel by more than R9 per litre.”
This would mean that the government would have to compensate for those losses elsewhere, which we suspect Godongwana is busy considering right now.
The finance minister is expected to announce adjustments to the fuel levy later today, Reuters reports.
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