South Africans have been urged to switch off the engines of their vehicles for 10 minutes on Monday morning between seven and eight o’clock in protest against the escalating fuel price.
Cash-strapped motorists will be paying a record price with the latest increases due to take effect on Wednesday. The price of petrol and diesel will go up by 26 cents a litre, paraffin by 22 cents and LP-Gas by 37 cents a kilogramme.
Energy Department spokesperson, Robert Maake says international oil prices and the Rand performance dictate the prices.
“The main reason for this fuel price increase is the weakening of the rand against the dollar for the period under review. We’ve also noted that the lower crude oil prices have actually cushioned the prices by closer to 20c a litre.”
This is the fifth fuel increase this year.
Visvin Reddy, is the National Convenor of a newly formed organisation People Against Petrol and Paraffin Price Increase (PAPPI).
“This affects all South Africans. It’s the first day of our programme of action. We start with a one hour from 7-8 o’clock where we will be having protest placard demonstration in busy intersections throughout the country and where vehicles will switch off in areas where it is safe to do so, for 10 minutes. We will measure it by firstly people wearing black, it’s a sign that our message has gone out,” says Reddy.
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