WeeklySA_AdminIMPACT: Motorists rue trip to petrol stations as fuel price raised to the highest level it has ever been
By Thuli Zungu
Consumers are yet to feel the effect of the double price hikes just within a period of two months, coupled with the impact of the recent looting.
The Department of Energy announced the rise of fuel price by 91 cents a litre, diesel by 58 cent a litre and paraffin by 50 cent a litre amid the increased Eskom electricity tariffs for the financial 2021/2022, which kicked in the end of July.
Weekly SA Mirror spoke to Nondumiso Mohopho, 62, of Naledi, Soweto, who said it was like consumers were being punished for working from home now that very few people drove to work since the beginning of the lockdown.
“Salaries have decreased and food has skyrocketed and the grant is not enough to keep up with this,” she said.
Mohopo said she felt the pain of the drivers as her daughter who has been working from home since lockdown had her salary decreased and was at the verge of losing her car which keeps all of the family away from using the public transport since there wass no social distancing observed in the taxis.
“With money going to fuel, food, Vitamins and immune boosters to counter COVID and electricity, which has also increased, we must expect the worst, “she said.
Deon Sibeko, who does not post on his whatsApp status but this Thursday he posted: “I don’t normally brag about going to expensive places….I just left the petrol station.”
Nunben Dixon, head of Automotive at Gumtree, said after the July monthly fuel price review, the price of fuel is at the highest it has ever been, with 95 octane having increased by over 17% since January this year, to an eye-watering R18.20 per litre. He said with an economy under pressure and pandemic-related lockdowns impacting South Africans’ ability to earn, the soaring fuel price directly impacted the cost of living in many ways.
Transport costs increased for commuters and retailers, while the cost of food and consumer goods also hiked, as producers had to pass on the impact of the rise to end users, he said.
For those who had no malls to buy bread from, they would have to travel to areas where groceries were available at an added cost, he said.
“Tragically, while the food costs and the price of other goods is set to soar, consumers’ salaries are unlikely to keep pace with these increases, putting consumers under even more pressure than they were before,” Dixon said.
