Compiled by Anita Dangazele
- Minister Gwede Mantashe says there are currently no interventions planned to ease the impact of rising fuel prices on households and businesses.
- The department is reviewing how fuel margins are calculated, a process only expected to be completed by March 2027.
Government has no immediate plan to help cushion households and businesses from rising fuel prices, Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has told Parliament.
Mantashe was responding to a written question from MK Party MP Adil Nchabeleng, who asked what urgent steps the department had taken to ease the impact of rising fuel costs.
Mantashe said there are currently no interventions planned, citing ongoing volatility in international fuel prices, and said the department continues to set fuel prices transparently, as required by law.
He pointed instead to longer-term work already under way. The department has reviewed the Basic Fuel Price component of the pricing structure, and is separately reviewing the Regulatory Accounting System, used to calculate the margins that make up part of the price you pay at the pump.
“This review forms part of the Department’s APP and will be concluded in March 2027,” Mantashe said, referring to the department’s Annual Performance Plan.
Mantashe also said the department is proposing changes to how something called the slate levy is administered, aimed at making sure fuel supply continues without interruption for as long as the current conflict in the Middle East lasts.
This comes as South African motorists could be facing record fuel prices next month. Early Central Energy Fund figures suggest petrol could rise by R2.02 to R2.14 a litre in October, with diesel increasing by R1.71 to R2.05 a litre, depending on the grade.
Pictured above: Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe has told Parliament that there is currently no plan to ease rising fuel prices.
Image source: Fuel
