<\/p>\n
SA recalculates fuel prices monthly because crude oil and finished petroleum products are bought at international prices, including shipping and other import costs. During the latest review period, Brent crude increased from $82.37 to $87.88 a barrel.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
People Against Petrol and Paraffin Price Increases National Convener Visvin Reddy said greater African refining capacity could reduce exposure to international supply disruptions and price movements.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reddy, also an uMkhonto weSizwe Party Member of Parliament, said SA needed to invest in refining, storage, transport infrastructure, renewable energy and strategic energy industries. \u201cWe should not have a continent blessed with all these energy resources, but we remain in the hands of international markets and international factors,\u201d Reddy said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to Reddy, African countries continue exporting raw materials for processing outside the continent before importing more expensive finished products.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reddy identified inadequate refineries, limited pipelines and storage, weak transport infrastructure, different regulations and fuel standards, financing constraints and foreign exchange shortages as barriers to intra-African oil trade. \u201cAfrica\u2019s economies were historically structured to export resources outside of Africa rather than trade with one another,\u201d Reddy said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reddy called for the continent\u2019s 54 fragmented energy markets to be developed into an integrated African energy market, supported by the African Continental Free Trade Area.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Nigeria\u2019s Dangote refinery demonstrated the scale of processing capacity that could be established on the continent, Reddy said. However, large refineries would require sufficient crude oil, competitive pricing, reliable transport networks and easier access to regional markets. \u201cDangote alone cannot solve Africa\u2019s fuel problems. We need several major refining hubs across the continent,\u201d Reddy said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reddy also called for investment in pipelines, ports and storage facilities to allow African-produced fuel to move efficiently between countries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to Reddy, SA\u2019s dependence on imported petroleum products places pressure on households, businesses and transport costs whenever international oil prices rise. \u201cStop exporting Africa\u2019s resources and importing Africa\u2019s poverty,\u201d Reddy said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAfrica has the oil, we have gas, we have coal, we have sunlight, we have wind, we have minerals, and we have a market of more than a billion people.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Reddy said energy security was central to African industrialisation, economic sovereignty and employment creation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44423,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-44422","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"South Africa\u2019s (SA) latest fuel price increase has renewed debate over Africa\u2019s limited internal oil trade and continued dependence on imported petroleum products.\r\n","published_date":"","news_description":"South Africa\u2019s (SA) latest fuel price increase has renewed debate over Africa\u2019s limited internal oil trade and continued dependence on imported petroleum products.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44422","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\/44422\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44424,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/44422\/revisions\/44424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44423"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44422"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=44422"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}