By Kouthar Sambo
During the Opening of Parliament Address (OPA) speech, President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted that more goods are being exempted from VAT by looking at better structuring.
This comes as the fuel price has been an issue of contention as civil society appealed to the government to relook at the structure of how our fuel is calculated.
Meanwhile, the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) has termed Ramaphosa’s speech at the OPA as an old list of false promises.
According to the Spokesperson Koketso Phasha, the president presented no concrete plans to tackle the cost of living crisis driven by financialisation, deindustrialisation, and administered prices of electricity and fuels – these factors can be attributed to the rising fuel crisis.
Speaking on VOC’s Sunday Live show on Sunday, the Automobile Association’s Eleanor Mavimbela said the fuel prices affect everybody, and not only motorists.
“The matter has been something the association has been advocating for since 2019. The association agrees to unpack all components that make up fuel prices in South Africa and look at the majority, being the general fuel levy and the Road Accident Fund levy- these are the components that governments can assess,” explained Mavimbela.
“The government should assess if these components are being calculated correctly or perhaps find another price or funding model for the Road Accident Fund, for instance.”
Over the past three years, she explained, the Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana has not been giving the general fuel levy. She added the association noted how the South African government uses the tax on the general fuel levy to do a lot of work in the country.
“It is not sustainable to say we can carry on with the government not exceeding the general fuel levy. But as the Automobile Association, we are suggesting to sit down with academia, civil society, and government to have a transparent process where all the components that make up the fuel price are being unpacked,” she suggested.
She further delved into the various sectors in which the fuel price cuts and appealed for transparency with significant key role players when it comes to funding allocation.
“It affects numerous industries, such as food, agriculture, and the mining industry – this has become a matter of urgency to relook the pricing model and have an open conversation because the issue is becoming rather urgent,” she urged.
Photo: VOCfm
