By Graeme Hosken and Jacques Breytenbach
The country faces a crippling petrol crisis now that thousands of fuel truck drivers have launched a strike demanding better wages. Pretoria is among the areas already hit.
There were also fuel disruptions in Johannesburg and the Eastern Cape this week when the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (Ceppwawu) refused to accept a 8,5 percent salary hike from the National Petroleum Employers' Association (NPEA).
NPEA represents Sasol Synfuels, Natref, BP, Shell, PetroSA, Chevron, Total, Engen and Sapref.
NPEA's offer of an 8 percent increase backdated from July 1 and an additional 0,5 percent from January 1 2008 "was not good enough", says Ceppwawu, which is demanding a 9,5 percent increase.
Several Pretoria filling station managers on Thursday said they were rapidly running out of fuel.
On Wednesday, BP Hatfield Gardens, which provides fuel to the city's embassies, would only allow motorists to fill up their tanks with R100 of petrol.
Filling station manager Johann van Heerden confirmed that petrol restrictions had been put in place.
"It is imperative that the situation returns to normal quickly because it will impact on everyone from emergency services to the general public," he said.
Wapadrand's Caltex manager Anne van der Merwe said: "We are totally dry. We have no petrol or diesel."
Eldoglen BP manager Bianca Mabunda said that by Friday they would have no fuel in the station's tanks by lunchtime
Arcadia Engen Garage manager Formyn de Kok also said that by lunchtime on Friday they would be out of petrol.
Faerie Glen's Old Farm Road BP Garage manager Rynard Fouché said they had run out of diesel.
The strike, which is affecting the delivery of all petroleum products, has led to PetroSA shutting down its plant in the Eastern Cape. PetroSA supplies South Africa with nearly 7 percent of its fuel requirements.
The crisis is affecting most of the country's petrol companies, with the Automobile Association (AA) saying that Gauteng petrol stations could run dry within three days.
AA spokesperson Gary Ronald said: "If deliveries only took place again by Saturday the situation would only return to normal by Monday.
"The biggest problem is with stocks of unleaded petrol.
"The biggest impact of the strike would be the loss of manpower, as the majority of the country's workers rely on taxis to get to work."
Problems with fuel deliveries have been experienced at both Pretoria's Waltloo fuel depot and Johannesburg's Langlaagte fuel depot, said the SA Petroleum Retailers' Association (Sapra).
Sapra national chairperson Wessel Strauss on Thursday said that fuel was being transported to petrol stations at a very slow pace.
"We are monitoring the situation and are appealing to the public not to start panic buying," said Strauss.
Ceppwawu deputy general secretary Keith Jacobs said its 26 000 members had elected to strike rather than accept the "pathetic" offer of 8 percent.
Ceppwawu's Waltloo fuel depot representative Thomas Masango said the depot had come to a standstill with no trucks being allowed to collect fuel.
SA Petrol Industry Association (Sapia) executive director Connel Ngcukana confirmed that PetroSA closed down their Eastern Cape plant for safety reasons.
"We are now trying to catch up the backlog," he said.
He said the strike, if it became protracted, could severely disrupt the supply of petroleum products.
Ngcukana said they had made an offer to Ceppwawu which they felt was "reasonable and fair".
NPEA spokesperson Alfie Ngubo said the wage agreement had also raised the minimum wage to R4 000 per month over a three- year period and an 18 percent increase in the minimum shift allowance.
Minerals and Energy Department spokesperson Sputnik Ratau also expressed great concern over the strike. However, Tshwane Emergency Services spokesperson Johan Pieterse and police spokesperson Director Phuti Setati they had not experienced problems with fuel supplies.