Cape Town - Motorists who who use diesel may have been conned out of the real fuel as the government said it was investigating watered down diesel that had been sold at 55 fuel “sites” in the country.
The diesel was mixed with paraffin during a “proliferation” of fake diesel and diesel theft in 2022.
The culprits allegedly dodged taxes and the SA Revenue Service (Sars) has been roped in to the investigation, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has confirmed.
In a parliamentary debate last year, DMRE Minister Gwede Mantashe lifted the lid on alleged diesel cheats, telling MPs that some fuel stations mixed it with paraffin.
Though Mantashe didn’t reveal to MPs the number of transgressors and detailed specifics, the DMRE told this publication this week that an investigation led by departmental inspectors, “detected diesel failures” at 55 sites from those that have been inspected randomly across the country from April 2022 to date.
In the debate, Mantashe referred to the culprits as “service stations”, while the department called them “sites”.
Mantashe based his allegations on samples collected at service stations and an increase in imports of illuminating paraffin.
Three sites in the Western Cape were found with altered diesel, while most failures were detected in Gauteng, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, the department said.
“In line with the amended Petroleum Products Act, 1977 (Act No 120 of 1977), the department issued statutory notices to all the affected sites,” the department said, in an unsigned response to a Cape Argus query.
“It is believed that those who partake in this illegal activity do so to avoid tax, hence the failed samples were also brought to the attention of Sars for further investigations.
“Those found guilty of this economic sabotage will face suspension or cancellation of their trading licence or permit.”
SA Petroleum Retailers Association (Sapra) director Vishal Premlall said there had been a proliferation of “diesel adulteration” in the last 12 months.
The practice of mixing diesel coincided with unprecedented fuel increases, which peaked in excess of R25 a litre (diesel) in early 2022.
A strong dollar, a struggling rand, the fallout from the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, and supply chain bottlenecks, among myriad other global factors, shot diesel and petrol prices through the stratosphere, prompting Treasury and DMRE to reduce the general fuel levy by R1.50 a litre from April 6 to July 6 in 2022, followed by a downward adjustment of 75 cents a litre from July 7 to August 2.
Fuel prices saw a massive increase again on Wednesday, as 95 and 93 unleaded petrol shot up by R1.27 a litre, while diesel went up by between 30c and 32c.
Automobile Association of SA (AA) data shows that diesel cost R17.28 a litre inland in January 2022, peaking at R25.49 last year, and dropping to R21.23 a litre this January.
On what diesel mixed with fuel does to your vehicle’s engine, AA spokesperson Layton Beard said: “If the diesel is not of the correct standard, then it’s certainly dangerous for your car.”
He urged motorists to buy diesel from reputable stations.
Premlall said: “(Sapra) is part of a petroleum compliance forum… trying to root out the illicit trade of petroleum in the market.
“In the space of 12 months, we’ve had a number of cases through where diesel adulteration has been highlighted as one of the concerns.”
He said diesel theft from pipelines was another issue.
Premlall said he wasn’t at liberty to reveal where some of the cases are as “there are investigations under way”.
Sapra recently introduced a whistle-blower hotline, which he said had seen more than 120 cases reported, including illegal and non-licensed operators.