The warning comes as South Africans brace for what could be record hikes in both petrol and diesel from April, largely linked to supply disruptions caused by the escalating conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At the same time, the SA National Taxi Council has indicated it may consider fare increases as operators struggle to absorb soaring fuel costs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking to Channel Africa on Monday, Automobile Association Chief Executive Officer Bobby Ramagwede said only two scenarios could explain the expected increases. \u201cIf we see onerous fuel price hikes, it is either indicative of opportunistic tax increases by the state, or an admission that South Africa\u2019s strategic fuel reserves are depleted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ramagwede revealed that taxes account for almost half of the fuel price. \u201cIf I give you round figures, nearly 50% of what motorists pay for fuel is tax,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He warned that the impact would be far\u2011reaching, particularly for lower\u2011income households and small businesses. \u201cFuel is embedded in every aspect of the economy. Food distribution, public transport, and air travel all rely on petrol and diesel. These increases will introduce inflationary pressure that the government may be underestimating,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ramagwede stressed that once prices rise, they seldom come down. \u201cHistory shows that when prices increase, they are very slow to decline, if ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The AA is calling on government to intervene by adjusting fuel taxes, as it has done in the past. \u201cBack in 2022, during the Russia\u2011Ukraine conflict, government reduced fuel taxes to cushion consumers. We expect similar measures now, whether temporary suspensions or partial reductions,\u201d Ramagwede said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He also questioned the status of SA\u2019s strategic fuel reserves. \u201cWe were told recently that reserves bought in 2016 were restored. The unanswered question is whether those reserves still exist or have been depleted over time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ramagwede stressed that any action by the AA would be lawful and peaceful. \u201cWe do not intend to close roads or operate unlawfully. Should action be required, it will be coordinated, orderly and within the law,\u201d he said, adding that there were informal agreements with partner organisations to pursue legal avenues if necessary.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":30369,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-30368","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The Automobile Association (AA) of South Africa (SA) has warned that it may take action against the government if the upcoming fuel price increases are driven more by taxes than by global oil prices.\u00a0","published_date":"","news_description":"The Automobile Association (AA) of South Africa (SA) has warned that it may take action against the government if the upcoming fuel price increases are driven more by taxes than by global oil prices.\u00a0","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30370,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/30368\/revisions\/30370"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=30368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}