SOUTH Africa's poorest households face a harsh reality as the price of paraffin, a vital energy source, surges, impacting their daily lives and financial stability.
Image: Dumisani Sibeko
SOUTH Africa's poorest households face a harsh reality as the price of paraffin, a vital energy source, surges, impacting their daily lives and financial stability.
The cost of simply switching on a light or cooking a warm meal has surged beyond reach for many of the poorest households, as the price of illuminating paraffin, a lifeline in homes without reliable electricity, climbed sharply this week.
As announced by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) on Tuesday, the wholesale price increased by R11.67 per litre from April 1, delivering an immediate and punishing blow to families already stretched to breaking point.
For Andile Chonco, who lives just outside Pinetown in KwaZulu-Natal, the surge is nearly incomprehensible.
"I live in a one-room shelter. I don't work. I depend on SASSA child grants as I have three children.
"I don't understand why they would up the price of paraffin that much because it is my main source of energy," she told IOL.
She explained the impact on her children: "The children study and need light. I really don't get why they would increase it this much. They should also think of us, the unemployed.
"I can barely get by on the grant."
Barely getting by, every day is a struggle for Chonco, who added that the paraffin they use runs out before the end of the month because she cannot afford to buy more.
Now, this struggle, she said, has been compounded. "There was no need for an increase in it. This government does not care for us because we're poor. We really are suffering. It can't surge by this much."
Economist Ulrich Joubert echoed this, saying that the hefty hike will have a devastating impact on lower-income families.
"It will have a severe impact on the finances of the people who utilise paraffin to cook, warm water and more.
"Those are mostly people from disenfranchised backgrounds. And it is reasonable to assume that many of them rely on welfare payments," he said.
The paraffin surge forms part of a broader wave of fuel increases announced at the same time, with petrol rising by R3.06 per litre and diesel climbing by between R7.37 and R7.51.
Driven by soaring global oil prices and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the hike lands hardest where there is least room to absorb it.
"Unfortunately, there is very little that people can do about this because they are dependent on it," added Joubert.
Explaining the structure behind the pricing, the DMRE stressed that in the country, the pricing structure of paraffin is designed to provide relief to consumers.
"Unlike petrol and diesel, paraffin does not include fuel levies and most taxes, as a deliberate policy measure to keep it as affordable as possible, given its importance to low-income households.
"As a result, reductions in fuel levies cannot be applied to offset increases in paraffin prices," said the ministry.
It went on to add that the increase in paraffin prices does not signal any reduction in government support for vulnerable households.
"Work is underway to develop targeted measures to cushion the poor from the impact of high energy costs. These efforts form part of a broader commitment to mitigate the effects of rising living expenses.
"Government remains firmly committed to protecting vulnerable households and continues to implement both immediate relief interventions and longer-term measures aimed at improving energy affordability and ensuring security of supply for all," said the department.
Multidimensional policy strategist and researcher Theto Mahlakoana laid bare the harsh reality for struggling families.
"Do you not understand what this means for a household surviving on grants? On scraps from one working relative supporting ten people?" She asked the DMRE.
She continued, highlighting the essential nature of paraffin, "Paraffin is not a luxury. It is survival. Yet this is where the blow lands hardest."