Since the start of the month, it seems that South Africa is being hit from all sides with increases in petrol, paraffin, and electricity prices. All of this is in addition to the implementation and continuation of stage 6 loadshedding.
As of yesterday, South Africa has broken the record with the largest petrol price increase to date. A litre of 95 ULP costs R26.74, 93 ULP is now R26.31 per litre, diesel has gone up by R2.30 per litre, and paraffin prices increase by R1.66 per litre. The opposition Democratic Alliance has submitted a Fuel Price Deregulation Bill in response to the shocking increase, which aims to deregulate the fuel sector in South Africa and hopefully bring fuel prices down again.
As reported by IT News Africa, South African Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe reminds us in her announcement that this fourth-consecutive hike is the result of a global effect on fuel prices and supply constraints due to the ongoing Russia – Ukraine conflict.
Additionally, despite Eskom’s request for a 20.5% increase in electricity prices being rejected by the National Regulator of South Africa in February, things still look grim with the approved hike of 9.6% that took effect on 1 July 2022 according to the City of Cape Town’s budget report.
Furthermore, while Eskom has reached an agreement with labour unions and strikes have ended, loadshedding has not. The rollercoaster-like schedule looping between stages 2 through 6 will remain for some time, and place a great deal of strain on homeowners.
IOL reports that trade union spokesperson, Abigail Moyo has deemed the situation an economic disaster for those whose operations depend on UPSs, inverters, and generators to stay afloat.
Though these appliances provide some relief during loadshedding, the time between power outages provides insufficient recharge time, not to mention the effect of fuel and electricity price increases on the running and maintenance costs.
The collective result of these increases in conjunction with loadshedding is evident in the adverse conditions in which SMMEs and home-based businesses find themselves and calls for urgent interventions.
Also read:
Eskom’s wage strikes end, but this doesn’t mean loadshedding will
Picture: Cape {town} Etc gallery