The government is giving “special attention” to the predicted massive increase in fuel prices in South Africa in June, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele has said.
Petrol prices are expected to rise by between R1.93 and R1.97 per litre in June as the two-month fuel levy reprieve announced at the end of March comes to an end. The reprieve meant that motorists paid R1.50 per litre less than what would have been the normal price.
Without it, motorists could end up paying approximately R25 per litre of petrol in June. This would be a record price that would add to the already high cost of living in the country.
Fuel price hope or despair?
Speaking during a post-Cabinet meeting media briefing on Thursday (26 May), Gungubele said the government is waiting for feedback from Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, who are consulting on the matter.
“But it’s a matter that is receiving special attention by the government because it affects our economy very strongly,” he added.
However, he did not provide a timeframe on when an announcement could be made. The fuel price increase is expected to take effect in just over a week.
Speaking to Fin24 last week, Mantashe however cast doubt on whether South Africans can expect an extension of the fuel levy reprieve. He explained that the sale of strategic oil reserves, which allowed the government to forego fuel levy revenue, was only enough to cover the shortfall for two months.
“[At the end of May] we have to meet Treasury to [see] if there can be anything more that we can do,” Mantashe said at the time.
South Africa’s 12th official language
Meanwhile, the Cabinet has approved the publication of the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill of 2022 for public comment. The Bill seeks to give recognition to the South African Sign Language (SL) as the 12th official language.
This “will advance [SL’s] cultural acceptance and affirm equal rights for all South Africans, irrespective of their disabilities,” Cabinet said.
The Department of Basic Education already recognises the SASL as a home language.
Section 6(1) of the Constitution proclaims that South Africa’s 11 official languages are Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu.Â