SA Cabinet Rejects Sonjica

A proposal to aid consumers by lessening taxes on petrol in South Africa issued by Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica did not win over the country’s Cabinet. According to the Engineering News, Sonjica said in an interview on June 9 that the price of crude oil had been “rising almost every week,” and that government was committed to help mitigate the effects of price inflation on society, and the poor in particular.

She said that her department was proposing the removal of 2% of fuel tax, but would welcome it if the government stepped up and offered more. “We’re not going to be rid of the surging oil price in the near future,” Sonjica stated.

According to the article in Engineering News, a statement issued by the Cabinet said that the fuel levy was a specific tax that was adjusted once a year, staying constant, irrespective of changes in the fuel prices.

Currently South Africans pay R1.74 tax on each liter of petrol they buy, and R1.58 for each liter of diesel. This includes a 46.5c/l Road Accident Fund levy.

While the government said it had discussed the proposal it came to the conclusion that the Ministers of Finance and Minerals and Energy, “should consult further with a view to identify the most desirable, practical and possible ways of mitigating the impact of the rising cost of fuel on food prices and other goods and services.”