People Against Petrol and Paraffin Price Increase protested outside the Sasol garage on Masabalala Yengwa Avenue (NMR) in Stamford Hill yesterday calling for lower fuel prices, an end to poverty and the nationalisation of the energy company. People Against Petrol and Paraffin Price Increase protested outside the Sasol garage on Masabalala Yengwa Avenue (NMR) in Stamford Hill yesterday calling for lower fuel prices, an end to poverty and the nationalisation of the energy company.
OPINION - Fuel prices are expected to drop by around R1.50 next month, as a result of the stronger rand and lower crude oil price. The Department of Energy has indicated that this benefit will be passed on to motorists, which will come as a relief. Does this mean it's time to celebrate?
Fuel prices have almost trebled in the past decade and a R1.50 decrease will still keep costs at their highest in history. Food and transport costs all went up as a result of the escalating cost of petroleum and it is very unlikely that these prices will decrease. History has shown that when fuel prices come down, the benefits are not necessarily passed on to consumers.
There are glaring solutions to the high fuel prices, but our government chooses to ignore them. Sasol was built with South African taxpayers’ money to protect our people from the oil Mafia (Opec), and the cost to produce this fuel is about R3 a litre. Ssaol supplies one-third of our country's fuel needs and exports the surplus to neighbouring countries. Sasol is one of the top 20 companies listed on the JSE and, at one stage, reportedly made a profit of R100million a day.
Our government does not have the determination to “expropriate” Sasol and take its ownership back to the people, so that we can pay less than R10 a litre for this local fuel.
I guess it's the same reason the present government failed to act on the land question and starts a process which could have begun in 1994.
We still pay the highest in fuel taxes and levies, almost 40% of the cost per litre, and we maintain that these costs can be removed altogether. This requires boldness and a leadership that places the interests of the people first.
There are alternative forms of taxation that won't harm South Africans, but our government lacks the ability to do so.
I won’t celebrate this decrease as I suspect some political parties will do, for electioneering purposes. We have a long way to go.