Share

Petrol price drop not elections ploy

Cape Town - It is not true that the decrease in the petrol price is as a result of the upcoming elections, according to the energy department.

It announced on Friday that the petrol price will decrease by 15.0 cents a litre (c/l), while diesel will drop by 29.78 c/l in Gauteng.

Also seeing a drop in price is illuminating paraffin by 25.0 c/l and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 4.0 cents/kilogram.

It is the first time that the price of petrol had come down since October last year.

The price drop would take effect on Wednesday May 7, which also marks the country's fifth democratic elections.

This has led to speculation by online readers that the decrease in prices is a move designed to garner votes.

"Still trying one last thing to get votes?" asked Valerie Elizabeth Burns.

A user, called Fiat Prefect, said that it is desperate last minute electioneering to buy votes, adding "my vote is not for sale".

Kenneth Dion Makgopa agreed. "They just want to manipulate us with the decreasing of fuels, what they need is just us to vote for them nothing else".

On a more sober note, De Wet Joubert pointed out that people are always nagging.

"Fuel prices rise, people complain ... fuel prices drop, people complain and blame the government of some form of mislead publicity stunt. This country is unbelievable."

Department of Energy spokesperson Johannes Mokobane re-iterated to Fin24 that factual reasons, such as crude oil prices and a stronger rand, contributed to the decrease.  

"The decrease in the prices of all the petroleum products is due to changes in international factors, namely, crude oil prices, the rand/dollar exchange rate and the prices of finished products.

"The rand appreciated against the US dollar from R10.76/$ to R10.55/$ during the period under review."

Added to this, he said, is also the reduction of the slate levy, which is the money that is collected from motorists to compensate the industry for cumulative under recovery, by 8.87 cents per litre.

Industry experts confirmed to Fin24 that the price drop is not as a result of political interference.

"This is not an elections trick. It is simply the way the price is calculated," said Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt.

Economist and chief strategist at Investment Solutions Chris Hart said: "It was not emotional or political."

Both economists agreed that the key factors affecting the price drop were the rand and the international oil prices.

Welcoming the drop, debt expert Neil Roets told Fin24 the decrease will unfortunately not be much of a breather for consumers.

"We often see that if the petrol price goes up, the price of goods and services increase in accordance with the petrol price, but when the petrol price goes down, the price of goods and services does not go down accordingly."

He said much more is needed to bring sufficient relief to consumers.

 - Fin24

Help us help you by taking our second annual Debt survey and you could win R3 000, or add your voice by  sharing your debt  experiences, debt-busting tips and insights.

Have a question? Ask our experts.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.96
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.91
-0.1%
Rand - Euro
20.48
-0.1%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.34
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.2%
Platinum
896.95
-1.0%
Palladium
1,000.11
-0.2%
Gold
2,194.20
-0.0%
Silver
24.51
-0.6%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,007
+0.5%
All Share
74,221
+0.4%
Resource 10
56,323
+1.2%
Industrial 25
103,552
+0.3%
Financial 15
16,559
+0.2%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders