President Cyril Ramaphosa has set up a ministerial task team to find ways to protect South Africans from a fuel price increase coming in April.
Ramaphosa made the announcement at the ANC Limpopo conference. He said the increase is unavoidable, driven by war in the Middle East involving the US, Israel and Iran.
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route, has delayed supply and sent prices climbing.
Rising energy prices are also pushing food prices higher, putting more pressure on South Africans who are already struggling.
According to the Sunday Times, the task team will include Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, mineral resources minister Gwede Mantashe, electricity and energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, and trade and industry minister Parks Tau.
An insider says the team’s work goes beyond just fuel prices.
“They are not just looking at fuel prices; they are tasked with looking at the whole geopolitical situation and its implications for the country,” the insider said. “They will then use that to drill down into the fuel price and how they can work around it.”
There are also calls for the National Treasury to suspend or lower the fuel levy temporarily, which could help slow both fuel and food price increases.
Ramaphosa said Godongwana is equally stressed.
“He’s also having sleepless nights because of what’s happening. I told him I’m not sleeping at all because of this challenge that our people are now facing,” Ramaphosa said.
He warned that higher living costs will create “more hardships” and shrink the government’s ability to spend.
“We need to find ways of controlling our own response,” he said.
