Parliament calls for petrol price review in South Africa

 ·2 Jun 2022
Gwede Mantashe South African Minister of Mineral and Energy Resources

Parliament’s portfolio committee on mineral resources and energy has called for a comprehensive review of South Africa’s petrol price ahead of the end of the intervention period in August.

Chairperson Sahlulele Luzipo said the latest intervention is welcome, but that a more permanent solution now needs to be considered with the temporary relief set to be withdrawn in two months’ time.

On Tuesday (31 May), the Treasury and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced a temporary relief extension of R1.50 per litre for the first month, from 1 June to 6 July 2022, and then a downward adjustment of the relief for the second month to 75c per litre, from 7 July to 2 August 2022.

“We need to ask ourselves a pertinent question as to what will happen after two months when the fuel price is still high. A piecemeal review is unsustainable, in our view,” he said. He said the government should start considering placing domestic taxes elsewhere, saying that deregulation is likely to impact negatively on black-owned small businesses.

The temporary reduction in the general fuel levy will only smoothen the impact of persistently higher fuel prices on consumers and businesses, as the economy will need to adjust to this new reality, Treasury said.

Other changes announced include:

  • From 1 June 2022, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy will remove the demand side management levy of 10c per litre that has been applied to inland 95 ULP.
  • After a review and consultation by the DMRE, it is proposed that the basic fuel price also be decreased by 3c per litre in the coming months.
  • The government intends to continue with consultations and proposals to remove the price cap on 93 ULP, which will partially deregulate the market and introduce more competition to lower pump prices.
  • A review of the Regulatory Accounting System, which includes the retail margin, wholesale margin and secondary storage and distribution margins, will be completed by the DMRE to assess the potential to lower margins over the medium term.

Read: Here is the official petrol price for June

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