Transnet
Consumers in Nelson Mandela Bay may not get any relief soon from the interim adjustments to the fuel pricing structure for the Metro and surrounding areas that enabled fuel hauliers to recover transportation costs for collecting their product in East London.
This interim measure was implemented by the Minister of Minerals and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe, after a berth in the Port of Port Elizabeth was damaged by a tanker in June.
As vessels were not able to enter the port, they docked in East London, leading to NMB transport companies incurring additional costs to collect their fuel.
The Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber, acting in the “best” interests of its members, consumers and communities, said it filed an urgent review application in October, to gain access to the information which informed the Minister’s decision.
In a strongly worded statement on Wednesday, Chamber CEO, Denise van Huysteen, noted that the Metro would revert back to being part of the coastal zone fuel pricing structure only once the damaged berth in the port of Port Elizabeth is operational again.
She also noted that the records received it would appear that Minister Mantashe “did not consider any other options to mitigate the impact of the issue on consumers, but rather focused solutions on addressing the additional transport supply costs and the recovery thereof”.
Van Huysteen said the Chamber was also concerned that this potentially created a precedent “for the state to simply transfer its obligations to innocent parties” without taking accountability and without regard to the right to administrative justice which is enshrined in the Constitution.
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“While we have achieved success in putting pressure on the Minister, as well as Transnet to accelerate the repair of the berth at the Port Elizabeth Port and return the metro back to being part of a coastal pricing zone, we are extremely disappointed that consumers and businesses continue to carry additional costs through the fuel price adjustments to fund this,” Van Huysteen said.
She said the decision also casts doubt that the berth, which is earmarked to be repaired by the 6 December, is on track and potentially may not achieve this deadline.
This could mean that Nelson Mandela Bay may potentially not revert back to its coastal zone pricing status ahead of the holiday season.
“We however estimate that this decision is causing an irrecoverable direct loss to the local economy of approximately R50 million per month,” Van Huysteen said.
The Chamber said Mantashe was not willing to make this change from early December or January when the fuel price adjustments take place, indicating the low confidence levels in the berth becoming operational timeously.
“We are very unhappy with the lack of firm commitment and ongoing approach of punishing Nelson Mandela Bay based consumers and businesses for an issue which is not of their making.
“It is the Chamber’s view that the additional costs incurred to date in transporting these fuels into the area by road has been unfairly passed on to businesses, consumers, commuters and local communities.
“None of these key stakeholders were consulted prior to the rezoning by the Minister,” Van Huysteen said.
Read More:Transnet under pressure to fix fuel tanker berth at port of PE
She said businesses, consumers, commuters and local communities have been made to bear the brunt of a shipping vessel accident, not caused by them, by paying inflated prices for fuel and indirectly for other goods and services.
“It is of concern that the Minister did not adequately consider key regional indicators which reflect that Nelson Mandela Bay is in recession and has amongst the highest unemployment rates in the country.
“Of equal concern is that consumers and businesses are already reeling from the consequences of the massive municipal utility price increases and other factors affecting the cost of living as well as costs associated with operating businesses,” Van Huysteen said.
Highlighting the impact of the Minister's decision, Van Huysteen said for example the October unleaded 95 petrol price decrease was supposed to have been 114 cents per litre, but due to the rezoning of Nelson Mandela Bay this price decrease was only 31c per litre, representing a loss of 83 cents per litre.
Van Huysteen said in November the price of unleaded 95 petrol increased by 25 cents a litre, but due to the inland zoning this was increased by 83 cents a litre for consumers in Nelson Mandela Bay.
“Collectively this means that to date Nelson Mandela Bay consumers have paid R1.66 more per litre for 95 unleaded fuel versus what they would have paid if the area was still a coastal zone.
“In terms of diesel and paraffin the collective additional amount paid by consumers is also R1.66 more per litre,” she said.
