Statement by Denise van Huyssteen, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber:
While we welcome the temporary reduction in the general fuel levy of R3.00 per litre, which will be implemented in the price structures of petrol and diesel from the 01 April to 05 May 2026, this alone will not be enough to cushion the blow of the knock-on inflationary pressure across the local economy.
Equally, we remain concerned about the ongoing availability and reliability of fuel supply and security to meet South Africa’s needs. The country is highly reliant on refined petro-chemicals such as diesel, petrol and paraffin, and over the past few years it has reduced the number of its fuel refineries, further increasing reliance on imported fuel supplies.
It is therefore vital that there is more transparency in sharing the country’s contingency plans geared at mitigating against the risks associated with global fuel supply security. This should be coupled with the co-ordination of the various government structures to have a unified managed response to the fuel crisis.
Mitigation measures could include alternative fuel sources, more frequent and regular adjustments to the administered prices of petrol and diesel to prevent price gouging, and panic buying and stockpiling of fuel by opportunistic sellers.
Other actions which should be considered include the publishing of safe fuel storage guidelines; the sharing of realtime, hyperlocal information such as fuel availability, service station, and depot queues through public platforms; and managing fuel demand as much as possible.
These high fuel price increases caused by the Middle East conflict will have negative consequences across the globe, impacting all sectors of the economy. Furthermore if these pricing levels are sustained over a period of time this is likely to trigger a global recession. Along with this, it will place pressure on food security and poverty levels.
From a local perspective this comes at a time when our local economy is facing immense pressure and the metro is grappling with an unacceptably high official unemployment rate of 28.2%.
The fuel price has a direct bearing on all sectors of our economy and as it increases, so too does the cost of transporting goods to export and domestic markets, which in turn results in the prices of consumables, intermediate goods and finished products increasing. This will further increase the cost base for local businesses from small through to large businesses, who may need to reduce expenses, restructure their operations or even close. Alongside this, workers and commuters will face rising costs to travel to work and other locations, while tourists may limit or cancel their travel due to the rising transportation and other costs.
