The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has welcomed government’s moves to ease the burden of fuel and VAT increases on consumers.
President Cyril Ramaphosa announced recently that the ministers in the economic cluster were finalising and would soon unveil a package of measures to ease pressure on consumers battling high food and transport prices.
The Automobile Association (AA) says the price of fuel is likely to go up again next month with 19 cents a litre hike for petrol expected.
The commission’s Gushwell Brooks says they hope government will consider expanding the number of goods exempted from the VAT increase.
“The very minimum, the basket of goods that are zero exempted. In other words, goods that we don’t pay VAT for within the retail sector, that is first and then obviously other aspects of the economy in ensuring that we have better management of the economy so that we can deliver services and goods to people, as is required both constitutionally and legally.”
