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MISA welcomes fuel levy relief, but poorest households still left in the cold

Apr 29, 2026 MISA, the Motor Industry Staff Association, Martle Keyter,


MISA welcomes fuel levy relief, but poorest households still left in the cold

 

MISA, the Motor Industry Staff Association, welcomes Government’s extension of the R3 per litre fuel levy cut on petrol until 2 June 2026 and the increase in diesel relief to R3.93 per litre effectively reducing the diesel levy to zero for May. This means that the general fuel levy on diesel has been suspended. This is a positive step that will ease pressure on workers, businesses and the transport sector.

 

However, it is disappointing that millions of South Africans who rely on illuminating paraffin have been excluded from this relief. Paraffin prices are set to rise by R5 or more per litre in May, leaving the poorest households, who depend on it for cooking, heating and lighting exposed to unbearable costs as winter approaches. “This relief is welcome, but it cannot ignore the poorest of the poor. Families who rely on paraffin are being left behind. Government must urgently extend relief to paraffin users, or risk deepening inequality and hardship,” says Martle Keyter, MISA’s Chief Executive Officer: Operations.

 

MISA also welcomes progress in the review of the fuel pricing mechanism, but insists this process must be open, transparent and participatory. Workers, communities and civil society must have a voice in shaping how fuel prices are regulated in future.

 

At the same time, MISA calls on the private sector to contribute to economic and social relief, by committing to a moratorium on retrenchments. Rising fuel costs cannot be used as an excuse to shed jobs. Protecting workers and households must be the cornerstone of South Africa’s response to global instability.

#PROUDLYMISA #MISALEADS #MISACARES #MISAONTHEMOVE #MISAFAMILY

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