Mr Eric Lucas, Mineral and Energy Affairs Spokesperson
DURBAN : APRIL 28, 1999
PETROL PRICE INCREASEThe announcement today by the Department of Minerals and Energy that the petrol price will increase by 16c/l [or 17c/l, depending on the announcement tomorrow] from 5 May will come as yet another shock to South Africa’s battered consumers who are already suffering under worsening economic conditions, rising inflation and high interest rates.
A large number of our people are dependent on public transport such as buses and taxis and there is no doubt that the price increase will be passed on to them. Higher distribution costs for all consumer goods will also be passed onto the hard-pressed person-in-the-street with higher food prices and increased inflation just two possibilities. These factors will combine to leave ordinary South Africans worse off when it comes to their monthly disposable incomes and possibilities for savings.
While the Inkatha Freedom Party accepts and understands that the rising international crude oil price and depreciating value of the Rand against the US Dollar play a significant role in local petrol price increases, it is also true that almost 50 per cent of the petrol price paid at the pump is made up of various government duties and levies to fund, among others, the Equalization Fund and the Road Accident Fund. The Inkatha Freedom Party calls on government to urgently review all duties and levies imposed on the retail price of petrol with a view to fund these institutions from the national fiscus and not by hidden, off-budget taxes on our citizens who are already contributing the lion’s share of government revenue through personal income and other taxes. Such a move will no doubt lead to a more affordable petrol price.
The Inkatha Freedom Party believes that the petrol pricing formula currently used by the Department of Minerals and Energy to calculate the monthly petrol price has not been sufficiently explained to the motorist and we call on the Department to immediately launch a national advertising campaign in all forms of the media to explain to the general public in a detailed manner how the petrol price is calculated and which elements make up the pump price. This approach will overturn much of the secrecy prevalent in the oil industry that is a legacy of apartheid and will establish a new culture of openness and transparency between government and the public that it serves in this field.
For further information contact Mr Eric Lucas at: 082-5572481