Image Source: SABC News
Local – National Taxi Alliance (NTA) spokesperson Theo Malele is urging the government to ease fuel levies ahead of a sharp fuel price increase forecast for April, warning that failure to act will have a devastating ripple effect on commuters, the working class, and the poorest of the poor.
Malele outlined the taxi industry’s position on the looming price hike and called on the government to intervene before operators are forced to adjust fares.
He noted that the fuel price is currently composed of just over 50% in levies, and that a temporary relaxation of those levies could significantly soften the blow for ordinary South Africans.
“If the government were to relax some of these levies for this short period, this would soften the blow on the community masses who are already spending more than 60% of their disposable income on fuel.”
Mixed Messages from Operators
Malele acknowledged that some taxi operators had already issued notices of fare adjustments ahead of 1 April but said the NTA had not sanctioned any increases at this stage.
He stressed that any pricing adjustment needed to be properly informed by a thorough assessment of operational input costs rather than rushed decisions.
The NTA and its counterpart, SANTACO, are the two major taxi structures in the country, and Malele indicated that operators who had already adjusted their fares may not be NTA members. He was firm that the alliance would engage the government directly on behalf of commuters.
“We will not just sit back and relax without making the necessary noise and knocking at the necessary doors for the government to begin to listen to us as a no majority public transport user that has been neglected for so many years.”
Malele also called on trade unions and all sectors of civil society to join the alliance in pressuring the government to act, cautioning that the fuel increase would worsen the country’s unemployment crisis if left unaddressed.
