Time For A Debate Of National Importance On High Fuel Prices And The Cost Of Living

Dear Editor

“The current fuel price framework no longer serves the interests of consumers but has become a vehicle to extract high taxes to pay for the insatiable appetite of a corrupt and wasteful ANC government.”

The DA has submitted a request to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula, for a debate of national importance on the impact that high fuel prices are having on the cost of living. The basis of our request is based on the stubborn refusal by the ANC government to cut burdensome administrative taxes on fuels and make fuel affordable across the economy.

Today, South Africans wake up to an unprecedented fuel price increase that is going to have significant knock on effects on food price inflation. Already hard press South Africans will be forced to pay more for transport to go to work and school, the basic food basket will continue to shrink as food prices become unaffordable and interest rates will remain elevated due to the high inflationary environment.

The current fuel price framework no longer serves the interests of consumers but has become a vehicle to extract high taxes to pay for the insatiable appetite of a corrupt and wasteful ANC government.

We have repeatedly called for a review of South Africa’s fuel price framework methodology in order to bring it in line with international best practice. In consultation with industry stakeholders, we strongly believe that it is possible to standardise taxes, levies, transport and storage costs across the board to enable cost savings and fuel price rationalization.

In a recent economic note, SARB concluded that administered fuel prices in South Africa were a significant driver of inflation as key components of the fuel price have risen above inflation in recent years.

While the US Dollar/Rand exchange rate does play a role in the overall price of fuel, it is common knowledge that the rand has been under pressure due to the ANC’s reckless support for Putin’s war in Ukraine, South Africa’s stagnant economy, policy uncertainty and the fringe politics of the EFF. It is unfortunate that honest and hardworking South Africans, not the ANC, are paying a heavy price for bad policy choices by a clueless government.

Parliament has to step in and fill in the governance void created by an ANC government that is refusing to act and cushion South Africans from the high cost of living. Citizens are struggling to keep their heads above water and they simply cannot afford further fuel hikes and the resultant increases on food and transport.

Regards

Kevin Mileham MP
DA Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy