POLL | Do you agree with a fuel ration to cushion the impact of rising oil prices?

Rationing the amount of fuel sold to motorists is among the proposals to lessen the impact of surging oil prices.

Petrol hit R21/l for the first time earlier this month after a R1.46 increase, but there have been fears of a much steeper increase in months to come, with the conflict in Eastern Europe leading to a higher crude oil price and concerns about supplies. 

Data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) predicts the price of petrol could increase by more than R2 per litre next month and diesel by more than R3.

Amid calls for relief at the pumps, government is looking at several measure to possibly ease the blow for consumers.

“We are part of the global energy supply chain and therefore we are affected by this international conflict. Possible mitigation measures to counter the impact of rising fuel prices would be strict enforcement of speed limits, encouraging working from home again, limits on diesel quotas exported, and even the possibility of limiting the amount of fuel per motorist,” department of mineral resources and energy and energy (DMRE) deputy director-general Tseliso Maqubela told lawmakers in Cape Town on Tuesday.

His comments come amid a request from One SA Movement leader Mmusi Maimane for  government to freeze the fuel price and “suspend fuel levies” to protect South Africans from inflation.

Several countries have imposed measures to offset the impact of oil prices, from reducing taxes on fuels to increasing subsidy caps.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently ordered a review of fuel levies in that country to cushion the economy from the “shocks and pressures” of the oil price.

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