Anyone feel like summarising the article here since I couldn't be arsed to register for Newsday crud.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government is doing a great deal to make petrol and diesel more affordable to South Africans.
Ramaphosa shared this information during a parliamentary question-and-answer session on fuel costs in the country.
The President explained that the Middle East conflict, which began in February 2026, caused a shock to the global economy and disrupted the crude oil supply.
“Prior to the conflict in the Middle East, fuel prices in South Africa had, on average, declined,” Ramaphosa said.
“This decline was due to the lowering of crude oil prices and strengthening of the rand-dollar exchange rate earlier in the year.”
However, after the war in Iran, oil prices rapidly increased, and the rand weakened against the US Dollar. This, in turn, significantly increased petrol and diesel prices.
In response to this shock, the government delayed the planned fuel levy adjustments announced in the 2026 Budget.
It has also implemented short-term fuel levy relief for both petrol and diesel from April until the end of June 2026.
This intervention was needed to cushion fuel consumers and households from higher fuel and food prices.
In April 2026, the general fuel levy for petrol and diesel was reduced by R3 per litre, which helped to cushion the fuel price increases.
In May 2026, the R3 per litre for petrol continued, and the general fuel levy for diesel was reduced by R3.93 per litre, taking the general fuel levy on diesel to zero.
“The relief measures are expected to cost around R17.2 billion in foregone revenue,” Ramaphosa explained.
He added that there are several additional measures in the tax system to mitigate the impact of high fuel prices.
“The agriculture sector qualifies for a refund of 100% of the RAF levy and 40% of the fuel levy for eligible diesel fuel purchases,” he said.
The President added that transport fuels are zero-rated for value-added tax (VAT) purposes, which brings further relief.
