SIYABONGA SITHOLE
FOLLOWING recent fuel price hike, which saw a litre of petrol rise by R2.43, the DA has decided enough is enough as the party takes its fight against rising cost of fuel to Parliament.
On June 1, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced an extension of temporary reduction in the fuel levy with R1.50 per litre from June 5 to July 2022.
However, this price freeze for the month has done little to bring meaningful relief to South Africans, who are battling to keep their lights on following steep increases in the fuel and cost of food. The recent price hike has taken the price of petrol from R21.51 to R23.94 per litre.
In a joint statement released in the past week, the finance and energy departments said the continued war in Ukraine and Russia, supply chain bottle necks and the tightening of global monetary policy have led to the change in the rand/dollar exchange rate and global oil prices, which in turn have led to even larger increase in fuel prices.
On Tuesday in a statement issued by the party’s spokesperson for mineral resources Kevin Mileham, the DA said in its fight for lower fuel prices, it had achieved a major concession after Parliament agreed to a debate on this issue.
“Parliament has agreed to urgently debate the DA’s demand for the ANC government to slash fuel prices, by cutting the exorbitant 33% tax on fuel,” the DA said.
Mileham said the party will use this opportunity to formally table its workable and practical solutions, which will bring relief to the fuel prices by cutting the more than R6 tax levies imposed on every litre of fuel.
Mileham said they have in the past month proposed and suggested many ways in which the ANC-led government could bring an end to the exorbitant fuel levies burdening ordinary citizens and businesses, who are struggling to make ends meet.
“In late May, the DA set out simple demands to the ANC government that would have dramatically slashed the fuel price, yet the ANC government chose not to act. The ANC government has done nothing to slash the fuel price, and had instead only effected a very short-term R1.50 discount, which expires in a few weeks,” the DA said.
The solutions offered by the party in reduction of fuel price hikes include deregulation of fuel prices by allowing providers to compete in prices, which will eventually drive down prices; ending general fuel levy of more than R4 per litre; and exempting fuel users from R2.18 per litre Road Accident Fund levy.
In the meantime, the DA has called on opposition parties to come together and support its proposal to Parliament as this is in the interest of all South Africans.
“The DA openly calls for all parties in Parliament to stand together and support this motion and to unite around this motion to show care for South Africans buckling under the price of fuel,” the party said.
The sitting of Parliament is scheduled for June 15 and the DA says the ball is now in the courts of all parties represented in Parliament to rally behind this call.