WATCH: Last-minute fuel rush leaves stations dry and attendants under pressure
Motorists and petrol attendants share their experiences trying to get vehicles filled before the price hike.
The fuel price went up at midnight on March 31, and motorists scrambled to fill their tanks before the increase took effect.
The Brakpan Herald stopped at a few local petrol stations to hear how the increase will affect motorists and the effect on petrol attendants throughout the day.
Motorists had a unified message: “Our budgets are now more stretched than ever, and we can’t afford the inevitable food price increase as a result of the fuel increase.”
In the pandemonium to fill tanks before the price hike, petrol attendants faced chaos. Many stations either ran out of diesel early, didn’t sell any at all, or, according to a few customers, preemptively raised diesel prices.
Stations also didn’t allow people to fill containers; only vehicles were allowed to do so, to protect the supply and prevent stockpiling.
This was to the chagrin of many, as some didn’t have enough fuel to drive to the nearest station and had to walk to get fuel, only to be told they don’t currently allow customers to fill containers.
Tyron Mabasa, one of the attendants at Astron Energy on Voortrekker Road, said that the entire day was chaotic, as they were one of the few stations that still had diesel left by the evening.
At the Shell station in Dalview, two attendants and a shop attendant generally had positive things to say.
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“We had a lot of customers,” said Thobani Msimango, one of the attendants. We can’t really say the customers were more rude than usual; some were quick because they knew what was going on. They were respectful because they expected the increase,” said Wish Dire, the other attendant.
“We only had diesel in the morning; it was finished by 10:00. We only let people fill their cars; no cans were allowed to be filled with diesel, which helped us,” said Siphiwe Ausenga, the shop attendant.
The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, adjusted the fuel levy for April to help cushion the blow, reducing it by R3 per litre, after consulting with the Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe.
This brings the total levy down to R2.29 per litre for petrol and R1.16 per litre for diesel.
