Ramaphosa: Government Weighs Options as Fuel Hikes Loom

South Africa’s government is weighing its options as fuel prices climb again, with President Cyril Ramaphosa confirming that authorities are studying what measures can be taken to cushion the public from the coming increases. The next round of price hikes is expected within weeks. It will land on households already under financial strain.

The operational picture behind the relief effort is one Ramaphosa laid out plainly: when fuel prices rose a few months ago, government intervened through the subsidy system, pouring in about R24-billion. That money, he noted, was drawn away from other programmes. With prices rising once more, the question of what can realistically be done is back on the table.

“We are not the only country that is affected by rising fuel prices, and of course there are various responses by various entities and governments and businesses, and we are giving serious consideration on what needs to be done,” Ramaphosa said. “You must remember that when the fuel price rose a few months ago, government intervened and poured into subsidies, subsidy system about 24 billion rand. Now that is 24 billion rand that we are removing from other programs. Now that it’s gone up again, everyone in the world is given consideration on what they should do. So are we.”

Meanwhile, the delivery consequences of the increases reach well beyond the pump. Higher fuel costs ripple through food, transportation and other goods, leaving citizens with less money in the bank. The pressure comes at a difficult moment for the economy, which is not growing at the rate government wants; critical sectors contracted in the last quarterly surveys. For a financially overburdened population, the projected increases mean the cost of living is set to climb again.

Ramaphosa’s remarks place South Africa among a wider group of countries contending with rising global oil costs, each searching for responses that fit their circumstances. His framing of the subsidy figure underscores the fiscal trade-offs involved in shielding consumers: money spent at the fuel pump is money unavailable elsewhere in government programmes.

On party matters, the president turned to the Constitutional Court ruling concerning six municipalities, which he said has lifted a huge weight of stress off ANC Secretary General Fikile Mbalula. Following the judgement, Mbalula collapsed while addressing the media, apparently overwhelmed with relief after the party’s victory.

“You know, the Secretary General obviously is elated, and the burden that was wearing on his shoulders is off, and he can now focus on running the elections for the ANC,” Ramaphosa explained.

The relief follows weeks of mounting pressure on the Secretary General from some National Working Committee members, amid threats that the NEC could push for his suspension over the alleged mishandling of the party’s electoral lists in the six municipalities.

For now, though, the more immediate test facing government is a practical one: whether a workable response can be found to the coming fuel price increases, and at what cost to the programmes the R24-billion subsidy was once drawn from.