Major fuel, electricity price hikes to hurt SA households, parliament says

The country is already reeling from the devastating socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

PRETORIA, April 8 (ANA) – Recent sharp hikes in the prices of fuel and electricity will make life even harder for South African households already grappling with the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Parliament’s portfolio committee on mineral resources and energy has said.

From Wednesday, the price of petrol breached the R17 (US$1.17) mark for the first time since late 2018 following hikes of 95 cents and R1 per litre for the 93 unleaded and 95 unleaded brands respectively.

This comes after steep electricity tariff increases also came into effect last week after state power utility Eskom was granted permission for a 15.63 percent rise from April 1.

The hikes will have a negative socio-economic impact on the livelihood of many South Africans, chairman of Parliament’s mineral resources and energy committee Sahlulele Luzipo said in a statement.

“These hikes are unimaginable, considering that they come at a time when the country is still reeling from the devastating socio-economic setbacks caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said, adding that the poor and working class would bear the subsequent brunt of escalating food and transport prices.

“The impact of these hikes will be unbearable in poor communities because most people rely on public transport to access health services, and often the taxi industry increases fares when there is fuel price hike,” said Luzipo.

He appealed to all sectors of the economy, including mining, transport and retailers of fast-moving consumer goods, not to raise prices.

Employers should also avoid resorting to retrenching workers as a mechanism to absorb possible escalating operational costs, Luzipo urged.

Next week the department of mineral resources and energy will brief Parliament on the fuel price hike. The Automobile Association will also be present.

According to Business Report, the depreciation of the rand against the United States dollar from R14.76 to R14.95 contributed to higher procurement costs for petrol, diesel and illuminating paraffin.

The increase in electricity tariffs means Eskom customers will pay an additional 5.44c/ kWh to the standard tariff for the 2021/22 tariff year, making the aggregate average standard tariff 134.39c/kWh.

– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa