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Oil Crisis in Mzansi: Emergency Petrol Price Intervention to be Announced

Amid the spectre of a fuel price hike that has led to protests among drivers in South Africa, the country’s finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, is set to announce a petrol price intervention to ease the problem.

According to the minister, the intervention will reduce the general fuel levy in the basic fuel price by R1.50/litre between April 16 and May 22.

The reduction will see the price of petrol dropping from R3.85/litre to R2.35/litre and that of diesel from R3.70/litre to R2.20/litre.

The changes, which do not cover other levies, including the road accident fund tax, will be introduced in the 2022 Rates and Monetary Amount and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill and then sent to parliament for confirmation.

The changes are actually broad-sweeping and will also ensure that there is greater competition among petroleum products dealers. Also, a price cap on 93 octane petrol will be introduced, and the Demand Side Management Levy (DSML) of 10c/l on 95 unleaded petrol sold inland will be terminated.

South Africa is one of several countries that has been hit by a petrol price hike. The Russo-Ukrainian conflict partly spawned the crisis. The world is feeling the pinch because Russia, one of the world’s largest oil suppliers, is under sanctions by the West.

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