Govt urged to play greater role in determining food prices
Civil society organisation, the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD), is calling on government to play a greater role in determining the prices of essential food items.
The organisation’s call comes ahead of steep fuel price increases set to take effect at midnight.
From midnight Tuesday, the price of petrol is expected to increase by between R3.12 and R3.33 cents per litre, depending on the grade.
Diesel will rise by between R2.84 and R3.24 per litre, while illuminating paraffin will increase by R4.77 per litre.
The organisation’s Advocacy Co-ordinator Sibusiso Mbotho says, “Consumers are bearing the brunt of high fuel prices and the wholesalers, the producers, as well as the retailers may cite that as the reason for raising prices on food items. And our appeal is that the government should step in and ensure that the pricing of essential food items is not only left to these big players, but the government also intervenes so that families are still able to afford food at this very difficult point.”
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Meanwhile, Mbotho says greater unity among African countries could help cushion consumers against sharp fuel price increases as Africa’s oil-producing countries have the capacity to supply the whole continent.
“When one looks at the African continent and the oil reserves, the oil deposits that are available, you will see that the continent has sufficient oil to not only supply all the countries within the continent, but also to supply other countries outside this continent. However, this has not been the case because of a lack of unity within these countries. Therefore, our appeal would be that there should be lessons learnt here that unity would ensure that all of these problems are mitigated,” explains Mbotho.