Carrying of fuel in containers now allowed
Consumers may now again dispense petrol and diesel into containers after its was prohibited following the national riots and looting during July 2021.
POLOKWANE – This follows after the Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai) has successfully pressured the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to withdraw its prohibition that resulted in undue hardship for consumers, especially farmers who had to convey fuel to their farms by some means other than in the tanks of their vehicles.
“On July 15, 2021 Saai’s attorneys urgently wrote to the minister calling for the irrational regulations to be withdrawn. On July 16, 2021 the Minister announced that the regulations would be withdrawn. However, this was never done,” Saai CEO Francois Rossouw confirmed.
On July 22, 2021 and November 4, 2021 Saai’s attorneys wrote to the minister again, urging him to honour the department’s undertaking to withdraw the regulations. In December 2021 Saai issued court papers against the minister to compel the withdrawal of the regulations and after being formally served with Saai’s court papers, the Minister has gazetted the withdrawal of the regulations, according to Rossouw.
“The unrest has by now long come and gone. Fuel supply in the country has stabilised long ago. There is no longer a need for any restriction. The ban has already had a detrimental effect on the operations of a number of farmers who cannot purchase fuel in containers as they always used to do. It’s a shame that we had to approach the court to compel the department to withdraw these irrational and detrimental regulations,” Rossouw commented.
