DURBAN - More than 98 000 people have signed a petition which is calling for people to stand against high fuel prices.
The petition was created on change.org and is directed at Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe and the Director-General: Department of Mineral Resources Advocate Thabo Mokoena.
By 11am today, the signatures stood at 98 077, with the target set at 150 000.
The petition calls for motorists to stand together against high fuel prices.
“It's ridiculous for us as motorists to pay this much for fuel. South Africa's fuel price has reached the R20 per litre mark. So many of us are living on the edge financially. It becomes more and more expensive for us to live our normal daily lives.”
It further states that there have been sky-high increases year-on-year since December 2020.
“Wages and salaries have not kept pace with these heavy increases, and consumers will undoubtedly be under more financial pressure because of the knock-on effects on other products. These increases are severe and will undoubtedly have major negative implications on already financially constrained consumers.”
The petition comes after the huge fuel price increases that came into effect on Wednesday this week.
Both grades of petrol increased by R1.46 per litre while diesel went up by R1.44 for 500ppm and R1.48 for 50ppm. Illuminating paraffin increased by R1.21 per litre.
The Automobile Association (AA) said last month that the increases would have a sharp and immediate effect on the poor and a long-term impact on inflation and would hurt all South Africans.