Select committee wants measurable pump relief from R10 billion fuel fund
The Select Committee on Appropriations finished public hearings on the Special Appropriation Bill on Thursday. Chairperson Tidimalo Legwase said questions remain on triggers, beneficiaries, duration and mechanisms, and that any relief must be under parliamentary oversight.
The bill seeks to appropriate R10 billion to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources. The money would fund a possible intervention to offset increases in the basic fuel price.
Legwase said the R10 billion is a temporary emergency measure. She said it cannot shield South Africans permanently from oil-price volatility or replace structural reform of the fuel pricing and transport system.
COSATU representative Mathew Parks said the fund exists to manage extreme swings in international oil prices. He said rising oil prices contribute to retrenchments, higher input costs and the closure of small businesses. Professor Dumisani Jantjies of PA-IFS said households pay twice: for petrol, and through higher debts when interest rates rise.
Key facts
- Who
- Tidimalo Legwase (Chairperson of the Select Committee on Appropriations); Mathew Parks (representative of COSATU); Dumisani Jantjies (Professor, PA-IFS representative); Zakariyya Desai (submitter to the committee)
- What
- The Select Committee on Appropriations concluded public hearings on the Special Appropriation Bill, which seeks to appropriate R10 billion to the Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources for a possible intervention to offset increases in the basic fuel price. Committee chairperson Tidimalo Legwase said questions remained on triggers, beneficiaries, duration and mechanisms, and that relief…
- When
- 8 October 2026
- Where
- South Africa
- Status
- Reported