Labour federation Cosatu has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to scrap fuel taxes and levies amid exorbitant fuel hikes and soaring food prices. The Federation’s General Secretary, Bheki Ntshalintshali, led a march in Durban, on Friday.
Cosatu led a march in Durban calling for the government to urgently intervene in the rising fuel price. The labour federation has warned it will mobilise for a total shutdown if this does not happen.
Cosatu General Secretary, Bheki Ntshalintshali says, “We think it is not only going to be the Treasury and the Minister of Minerals and Energy to determine. We think it is the responsibility of the cabinet as a whole. The country is in crisis the person must have to intervene he can’t just throw his hands in the air and say certain Ministers are responsible. We think the parliament is responsible for this. And in that petrol price huge part of it is taxation, and we say government knows, the government can be able to break it down and it is doable.”
Ntshalintshali is calling for the Competition Commission to investigate soaring food prices to see whether these costs are justified.
“The competition commission has a responsibility to investigate prices and this is a case and a point is that we are making is that the high prices we have seen on food suggest to us without actual information whether it has been increased on the same level of the petrol price. In other words are they not thumb sucking? Are they not putting higher than the impact of the petrol price? Because we strongly believe there are people who are taking chances.”
Meanwhile, the federation’s provincial office has also signalled a warning to the ANC that the current situation might affect the party’s performance in the 2024 general elections.
