The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has clarified that comments suggesting employees could work from home
Image: Picture: David Ritchie/Independent Newspapers
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has clarified that comments suggesting employees could work from home to cope with rising fuel costs do not represent official government policy.
This follows media reports implying that the government was considering remote work as a way to ease transport expenses amid surging petrol and diesel costs, which are expected to rise sharply in the coming weeks.
Economists warn that petrol could go up by about R2.80 a litre and diesel by around R5 a litre in the coming weeks. Some estimates say prices could rise as much as R8 a litre if global oil prices and the rand move higher.
The department said the comments made by Robert Maake, the Director of the Fuel Pricing Mechanism Robert Maake, during a workshop were offered only as an example in response to a question and were not intended as a formal recommendation or policy directive.
"The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources wishes to clarify recent media reports that reference remarks made by the Director of Fuel Pricing in the Department suggesting that working from home could help employees manage the impact of rising fuel costs," the department said.
"The Department categorically states that these remarks were made in response to a question from the floor during a workshop on fuel pricing mechanisms. In that context, working from home was mentioned purely as an example of one of several possible options that individuals or organisations might consider to mitigate rising transport-related costs".
The department also said that it remains focused on addressing fuel supply, pricing, and other cost-of-living pressures affecting South Africans.
"It is therefore incorrect to report or interpret the response given during the workshop as an official position or policy proposal of the department or government. The response was not presented as a directive, recommendation, or policy intervention, but rather as part of a broader discussion during the workshop".
"Government continues to engage on matters relating to fuel supply, fuel pricing and the broader cost-of-living pressures affecting South Africans. Any policy positions or decisions will be communicated through the appropriate official channels.
mthobisi.nozulela@iol.co.za
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