PANIC: South Africans queued for fuel
Image: Armand Hough
SOUTH Africans will be hit with unprecedented fuel price increases today, after the war in the Middle East sent international oil prices surging in the past month.
However, National Treasury and the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) have jointly announced a short-term relief measure in the form of a R3 tax reprieve for petrol and diesel for the month of April.
This will temporarily reduce the general fuel levy from R4.10 per litre to R1.10 per litre on petrol and from R3.93 to 93 cents in the case of diesel.
The DMPR announced on Tuesday that both grades of petrol will see a price increase of R3.06 per litre, while diesel will increase by between R7.37 (500ppm) and R7.51 (50ppm). Illuminating paraffin will see a price hike of R11.67 per litre.
After the price adjustments take effect today, a litre of 95 Unleaded petrol will cost R22.53 at the coast and R23.36 in the inland regions, where 93 Unleaded will cost R23.25.
The wholesale price of 50ppm diesel will rise to R25.35 at the coast and R26.11 in Gauteng.
Treasury said the relief measure, which will cost the government around R6 billion per month, will be re-evaluated on a monthly basis for the following two months.
The relief measure is designed to be fiscally neutral, it said, and the government will implement mechanisms to recoup the foregone revenue within the fiscal framework approved during the 2026 Budget.
Government further reiterated that there is sufficient fuel supply in the country to meet current and projected demand.
It said the shortages reported in certain areas were largely due to localised distribution and logistical challenges driven by panic buying rather than a lack of national fuel stocks.
These should self-correct in the coming days, it added.
Government is also exploring a broader package of measures to support households and key sectors of the economy, of which further details will be announced at a later stage.