Kamohelo Chauke: Understanding why SAs are paying more at the pump

Key topics:Sharp rise in fuel, electricity and paraffin costsGlobal oil instability and Strait of Hormuz tensionsDomestic policy failures deepening South Africa’s crisis.Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox every morning on weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Kamohelo Chauke*.South Africans are not simply experiencing another wave of economic pressure. What is unfolding is a deepening crisis that is tightening its grip on households, businesses, and the broader economy. The rising cost of living is no longer gradual or manageable. It is sharp, relentless, and increasingly unsustainable. At the centre of this storm lies a volatile mix of global conflict and domestic inaction, with ordinary citizens bearing the heaviest burden.The numbers alone tell a troubling story. Petrol prices have increased by R3.27 per litre, while diesel has surged by R6.19 per litre, pushing diesel costs beyond R32 per litre in some inland areas. Paraffin, often the last safety net for low-income households, has also increased by well over a rand per litre, stripping families of one of their final affordable energy alternatives. At the same time, electricity tariffs are rising significantly, adding further strain to already overstretched household budgets. These increases are not isolated events. They are interconnected, reinforcing one another and amplifying the overall cost of living in ways that are deeply damaging..Read more:.TCS: Cape of Good Hope emerges as vital global oil route amid rising tensions.To understand how South Africa arrived at this point, one must look beyond its borders. The instability in global oil markets is closely tied to escalating tensions in the Middle East, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz. This narrow passage is one of the most critical oil transit routes in the world. Even the risk of disruption immediately affects global supply and pricing. Iran’s actions in the region, including heightened tensions and disruptions to maritime stability, have contributed significantly to this volatility, adding a persistent risk premium to global energy markets.This is not a distant geopolitical issue with abstract implications. It is a direct cause-and-effect relationship. When oil supply routes are threatened, prices rise. When prices rise, countries that rely on fuel imports, such as South Africa, feel the impact almost instantly. The result is higher fuel prices at the pump, which then cascade through every sector of the economy.The first and most immediate impact is on transport. South Africa’s taxi industry, which serves as the backbone of public transport, operates without subsidies and within extremely tight margins. When petrol and diesel prices increase as sharply as they have, operators have no choice but to raise fares. This has a direct and immediate effect on millions of South Africans who rely on taxis to commute daily. For workers earning between R5,000 and R7,000 per month, even small increases in transport costs can significantly reduce disposable income. In many cases, it forces impossible choices between food, electricity, transport, or worse, forces businesses to cut jobs.The second major impact is on food prices. Agriculture is highly dependent on fuel, both for production and distribution. Rising fuel costs increase the price of operating machinery, transporting goods, and maintaining supply chains. At the same time, the cost of fertilizers has risen sharply, placing additional pressure on farmers. These combined factors lead to higher food prices, which are ultimately passed on to consumers. For low-income households, this is particularly devastating, as food constitutes a significant portion of monthly expenditure. When staple foods become more expensive, the consequences are immediate and severe.Small businesses are equally vulnerable. These enterprises already operate in a challenging environment characterised by unreliable electricity supply and limited financial buffers. The rising cost of electricity adds a direct and unavoidable burden to their operations. Eskom will implement an average electricity price increase of 8.76 percent for direct customers from 1 April 2026, while municipal customers will face a 9.01 percent increase from 1 July 2026. This means that whether a business is supplied directly or through a municipality, higher electricity costs are unavoidable. At the same time, many businesses rely on generators to cope with power outages, exposing them further to rising fuel costs. This creates a dual burden that is structurally unsustainable. The outcome is predictable: higher prices, reduced staff, or closures.For millions of South Africans, however, the crisis cuts even deeper at household level. When electricity becomes unreliable or unaffordable, many turn to paraffin for cooking, heating, and lighting. The increase in paraffin prices removes one of the last remaining coping mechanisms available to low-income families. What was once a fallback option is now becoming a luxury. During outages or in energy-poor households, this translates directly into hardship. Cooking becomes more expensive, heating becomes inaccessible, and daily survival becomes harder to maintain.The broader economic context makes the situation even more alarming. South Africa’s official unemployment rate remains above 32 percent, with the expanded rate approaching 40 percent. Economic growth projections have already been revised downward to around 1.0 percent. In this environment, rising costs do not get absorbed; they get transferred into hunger, debt, and business failure.A human reality sits behind these statistics. It is the commuter choosing between transport and food. It is the pensioner reducing meals because paraffin has become too expensive to cook daily. It is the small business owner switching off fridges to save electricity costs, accepting losses just to stay open another month. This is not inflation in theory. It is survival pressure in practice.Another layer of pressure comes from monetary policy. As inflation rises, central banks are forced to consider increasing interest rates. While this may stabilize prices in theory, in reality it raises borrowing costs across the economy. For households already under strain, this becomes another financial blow in an already collapsing budget structure.The role of Iran in this crisis cannot be ignored. By contributing to instability in a region central to global energy supply, it has played a direct role in increasing oil market volatility. Energy markets are sensitive systems driven by supply risk, and even the perception of instability in key routes such as the Strait of Hormuz is enough to push prices higher globally. And as a net importer of fuel, we are fully exposed to this volatility..Read more:.Ray Dalio: It all comes down to who controls the Strait of Hormuz — The “Final Battle".The reality is stark and uncomfortable. The United States and Israel have repeatedly put forward conditions for de-escalation, including halting uranium enrichment, allowing full international inspections, and easing tensions in critical oil routes in exchange for sanctions relief and stability. Yet Iran has resisted key elements of these proposals, prolonging uncertainty in global energy markets. What makes this even more concerning is that the African National Congress government, instead of firmly defending South African economic interests, has maintained a posture that effectively shields Iran diplomatically. This is not strategic diplomacy. This is political theatre at the expense of economic reality.This is where the deeper lesson must be learned. Political posturing, symbolic alliances, and diplomatic comfort zones mean nothing when ordinary citizens are paying more for food, transport, electricity, and survival. A government cannot afford to confuse ideological alignment with economic responsibility. Friends must be held accountable, not shielded from consequence, especially when their actions contribute directly to domestic suffering.At the same time, there is growing dissatisfaction within Iran itself. Internal protests signal that many citizens are increasingly unhappy with the direction of their country. This reinforces an important truth: the current trajectory is not fixed, and de-escalation remains possible.However, global factors alone do not explain South Africa’s crisis. Domestic leadership plays an equally critical role. The government has the tools to engage, to pressure, and to protect national economic interests. Yet its response has been hesitant, inconsistent, and lacking urgency. There has been more political caution than economic courage.South Africans are now facing rising fuel prices, higher electricity tariffs, escalating food costs, and disappearing affordability in basic energy alternatives such as paraffin, all while wages remain stagnant. The result is a sustained collapse in living standards across the board.This is not a temporary shock. It is a structural crisis driven by global instability and reinforced by domestic indecision. Without meaningful intervention, the pressure will continue to intensify. The path forward depends on clarity. Globally, de-escalation is essential. Domestically, leadership must move beyond political performance and into economic protection. Anything less is a failure of responsibility..Read more:.Godongwana warns oil shock may hit South Africa’s inflation.For now, the reality remains unchanged. South Africans are being squeezed from every direction, and the cost of political hesitation is being paid in every household, every taxi fare, and every empty plate..*Kamohelo Chauke is a community and student activist at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he has held multiple leadership positions, including serving as a Student Representative Council (SRC) member from 2021 to 2023.

Kamohelo Chauke: Understanding why SAs are paying more at the pump

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