During a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly (NA) this afternoon, the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, unequivocally declared that the practice of withholding fuel is illegal.
Even though the Minister stated that there is currently no fuel shortage in South Africa nor is one expected, numerous filling stations and wholesalers currently have no diesel. They claim that they cannot obtain diesel from the few large oil companies that import fuel.
There are even rumours circulating of a public enterprise claiming it has no fuel, while it has around 25 million litres in its fuel reservoirs. It should be relatively easy for the Minister to determine whether this is true.
Mantashe expanded on his statement regarding the illegal practice of withholding fuel: dealers may be tempted to do so in an effort to unfairly maximise profits, but his Department will take action against such dealers.
If diesel is readily available again once the price increase takes effect, it would serve as evidence of the crime highlighted by the Minister. The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) would like to know whether the Department will focus only on small offenders or whether the large fuel importers will also be investigated.
The Freedom Front Plus intends to keep a close eye on the matter.
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