Mantashe says talks to reduce petrol price at advanced stage, clarifies TotalEnergies' exit from SA
Speaking on the sidelines of the Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town on Tuesday, Mantashe said four Cabinet ministers are discussing reducing fuel levies to tackle the country's high fuel prices.
Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe at the 2022 African Energy Week at the V&A Waterfront, in Cape Town on 18 October 2022. Picture: @GwedeMantashe1/Twitter
CAPE TOWN - Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe says discussions around the reduction of fuel prices to relieve motorists - are at an advanced stage.
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana recently announced government's fuel price intervention plan to soften the blow on consumers.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Africa Oil Week conference in Cape Town on Tuesday, Mantashe said four Cabinet ministers are discussing reducing fuel levies to tackle the country's high fuel prices.
Mantashe added the Road Accident Fund and fuel levies are distorting fuel prices in a big way.
"As we sit here today, the price of petrol is R14 per litre, but we are paying R20 per litre and the R6 is for RAF (Road Accident Fund) and the fuel levy. The fuel price has been decreasing for the past five months and the impact is not visible because there is RAF and fuel levy attached to the fuel price."
MANTASHE PROVIDES CLARITY ON TOTALENERGIES
At the same time, Mantashe has rebutted claims that TotalEnergies is exiting South Africa because of policy uncertainty.
The petroleum giant recently ceased its gas exploration activities in South Africa's offshore blocks.
Environment advocacy groups have hailed the move as a victory in the fight against fossil fuel extraction and its impact on the planet.
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Mantashe explained TotalEnergies’ decision: "Total is not exiting South Africa, they are leaving a deposit in a difficult terrain to a deposit of oil in an easier terrain. That is an option that companies have, that's why they gave us prices for gas that took into account the complexity of the terrain in the Cape Agulhas."
Mantshe said he's confident that other major petroleum companies will take interest in the oil deposits that Total has left.
"They gave us prices that will compensate for the difficulty of the terrain, but PetroSA and Eskom couldn't agree to petrol prices that are above the market prices. We insisted that it must be market related, or we are not taking it up. Then the response of Total was to say, ‘I'm exiting’."