Following the Finance Minister’s announcement of an increase to the fuel levy, the Automobile Association (AA) has warned that the change could have far-reaching consequences for consumers.
Spokesperson Eleanor Mavimbela stated that an increase of 16 cents per litre for petrol and 15 cents per litre for diesel can be expected, effective 4 June 2025.
“This levy adjustment comes at a time when South Africans are already contending with high food prices, elevated interest rates, increased electricity tariffs and persistently high unemployment. Fuel is a critical input cost across all sectors of the economy; any increase inevitably drives up transport and operational costs, further intensifying inflation,” Mavimbela said.
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Meanwhile, Mandla Hermanus, Chairperson of the South African National Taxi Association Council (SANTACO) in the Western Cape, said the fuel levy increase will have a significant impact on the taxi industry.
“This obviously is going to hit our bottom line because it will affect our overall profitability as the minibus taxi industry, given that we remain unsubsidised, which means we subsidise our customers when we look at how we adjust our fare. This is not a big increase, and we are hoping that we would not be pushed to increasing our fares. For now, we believe we can absorb the increase without passing it on to consumers,” he added.
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