Johannesburg – The Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) has criticised the government for its failure to protect South Africans from soaring fuel prices.
This comes after data released by the Central Energy Fund (CEF) announced increases in petrol and diesel for August.
On Wednesday, those with petrol-powered cars woke up to increased prices in the region of 36 cents per litre for 95 unleaded, while diesel prices are looking likely to rise by around 72 cents per litre for both grades, which will push the wholesale price past the R20 mark once again.
Fedusa said it has taken note of the recent increases in prices, which will continue to force South Africans to dig deeper into their already depleted pockets to pay for fuel.
Deputy secretary general of Fedusa Ashley Benjamin lamented the latest increases on Tuesday, saying these came at a time when the average South African worker could barely keep up with the high rate of inflation, VAT, and other service costs such as electricity and rates.
“Yesterday, the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, published the hikes that include a 37c increase for a litre of petrol. Diesel will cost 72c more per litre, while illuminating paraffin, which lights up and provides heat in the homes of the poorest in our communities, will increase by 71c per litre,” Benjamin said.
He said the federation believed the government had departed too far from its mission, which was to prioritise citizens’ needs and circumstances in line with the conditions people are exposed to in a developmental state.
“At its core, such a state, like South Africa, should always strive to balance economic growth and social development with the needs of the people as the primary focus,” he said.
According to the federation, the reasons stated by Mantashe for the increases were primarily external factors due to the prices of crude oil and the rand/US dollar exchange rate.
“But that does not mean the government should simply step aside, leaving citizens to take the blow when it fails to cushion them from these increases,” Benjamin said.
Fedusa said enough time had passed for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration to have devised a socio-economic plan to deal with the price of fuel, which had far-reaching implications on the cost of living.
“Food prices, which research by various bodies has proven have skyrocketed over the years, will also be adjusted by retailers, leaving many households in distress. Salaries have been shrinking for years, with workers forced to take up what is now popularly referred to as ‘side gigs’ just to survive.
“Workers are also being strangled by the ever-increasing interest rates, making borrowing even more expensive on every front, including housing bonds,” Benjamin added.
The latest Altron FinTech Household Resilience Index, as quoted by BankServAfrica in its most recent Take Home Pay Index, shows that South African households are now worse off than pre-Covid-19, with household financial resilience declining by 2.4%.
“Yet, the government has, in the face of this, failed to recognise the need for a concerted effort to grow the economy while prioritising the needs of the people.
“Fedusa believes that a focus should be placed on the restructuring of the fuel levy too, as considered in the past, to lessen the burden on motorists and households,” the federation said.
The Star