The civil action group AfriForum has written to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, requesting that the government’s temporary fuel price relief measure be made into a permanent tax cut.
Back in April, the government reduced the General Fuel Levy (GFL) by R3 per litre to partially offset the massive fuel price hikes brought about by the war in Iran.
The relief policy was originally intended to last until the end of April; however, the tax cut was later extended to May because of the country’s record-high petrol and diesel prices. The GFL reduction on diesel was also increased by 93c per litre.
This tax cut is coming to an end now, as the National Treasury reintroduced half of the GFL in June 2026.
Consequently, R1.50 was added back to the price of petrol, while diesel received a slightly larger R1.97 tax bump.
The Treasury intends to add the remaining half of the GFL back this July, completely ending the government’s fuel price relief efforts.
In response, AfriForum has written to Godongwana calling for the relief measure to continue indefinitely, or at least extended for a considerable period.
“AfriForum called on Enoch Godongwana, the Minister of Finance, to make the temporary fuel levy cut permanent and not end it on 1 July as planned,” it said.
“The second-best alternative would be to cut the fuel levy for an extended period of time beyond 1 July, as oil prices remain high and further shocks in the near future are very likely.”
Ernst van Zyl, AfriForum’s head of public relations, said that the temporary reduction will only postpone the economic pressure faced by households and businesses.
“The situation in the Middle East remains at a knife’s edge, and one would be naïve to think the global economy is out of the woods,” he said.
“Major price shocks are still a very real risk. It’s the government’s responsibility to help consumers and the economy avoid this pain as effectively as possible and not simply to postpone the impact.”
While South Africa is on track for an over-recovery in petrol and diesel prices next month, motorists will still be paying considerably more to refuel than they were before the US-Iran war began.
According to mid-month data from the Central Energy Fund, petrol prices will drop by around R2.80 per litre in July.
Diesel, meanwhile, is looking at a stronger over-recovery of up to R4.83 per litre.
However, motorists will see a much smaller reduction at the pumps if the GFL is reintroduced. The petrol cut would drop to R1.30 per litre, and the wholesale diesel savings would drop to R2.86 per litre.
Petrol stations at risk
In May 2026, South African Petroleum Retailers Association chair Henry van der Merwe warned that petrol stations, particularly in rural areas, were under immense pressure due to the country’s high fuel prices.
He explained that the fuel price hikes had had a dramatic effect on motorists’ driving habits and that some forecourts may be forced to reduce their operating hours or close entirely.
While it’s easy to assume that service stations are profiting from the high cost of fuel, the reality is that their margins are fixed and a drop in sales is a serious blow.
“If we sell fuel at R25 a litre, we get R2. If we sell it at R40 a litre, we get R2. That’s where the unfortunate situation comes in. When high fuel prices hit us, the litres go down,” Van der Merwe said.
“It hits us hard, specifically the smaller sites, the rural areas. Those people are phoning and saying ‘we can’t afford to stay open at night because of security risks and low litres at night.”
He added that stations in rural areas would face security-of-supply challenges if fuel prices did not normalise.
“People are talking of retrenching people because they can’t afford them, or operating shorter hours, and that, for the entire country, is not a good thing,” Van der Merwe said.
Additionally, many stations have reported an increase in motorists driving off without paying for their fuel.
Loading ...
