EDITORIAL: Rethink needed on petrol levy
About half the petrol price is constituted by local additions of one sort or another
SA is facing something of a petrol-price crisis. The pump price of petrol has so many inputs, which often pull in different directions, so it is often hard to keep track of the overall direction. The significant levers are of course the rand-dollar exchange rate, the price of oil itself and the local excise tax. In March, there was actually some price relief, mainly because of a strengthening rand. In April, all of these levers pulled in the wrong direction for South African motorists. For example, 95 octane petrol at the coast jumped 62c/l, an increase of around 3.7% in a single month. The price of that grade is now R14.38/l, which is the highest it has ever been. And because they move in roughly mechanical lock-step, all other petrol prices are now at record levels, higher than they were in 2014 when the oil price was in three digits. The compounding problem in April was that special budget increases kicked in. It was announced during the budget speech in Parliament in February th...
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