South Africa cannot afford another 5 years of fuel price hikes from an ANC government

1 April 2019

The people of South Africa are about to be hit with yet another financial blow, with an ANC-sponsored fuel price hike of R1.31, pushing the price of fuel to a budget-sapping R16.13 per litre. This is an 11% increase from R14.48 a litre in 2018.

Despite what the failing ANC would like the public to believe - fuel price increases are not only the result of international and global trends, but are also due to the decade of ANC corruption, mismanagement and looting which precipitated fuel tax increases to cover government revenue shortfalls.

Over the past decade the price of fuel has increased by a staggering 118%. Things have clearly not gotten better under the ANC – it has gotten progressively worse.

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s New Dawn has been a farce and will continue to be if the ANC governs after Election Day. Only the DA can build One South Africa for All where all South Africans live in prosperity.

The New Dawn has been characterised by fuel tax hikes, electricity tariff hikes and rolling power blackouts while the people of South Africa, especially the poor, have had to contend with increased food and transportation prices. A large proportion of our population are struggling to survive in this costly environment.

The ANC is incapable of fixing South Africa because they do not know how to. The DA, on the other hand, has straightforward and practical solutions: the government must stop bailing out the bankrupt Road Accident Fund where simple regulation changes can limit its liability; reduce government’s wasteful expenditure, establish a smoothing mechanism to reduce the sharp impact of surging oil/exchange rate changes, and adjust the fuel taxes.

In the long term, prudent economic policy direction and sound fiscal discipline will aid the decrease in fuel costs

Issued by Kevin Mileham, DA Shadow Minister of Energy, 1 April 2019