Pressure mounts on treasury to ease impact of record fuel price hikes

Stephen Grootes speaks to Avhapfani Tshifularo, CEO of the Fuel Industry Association of South Africa  about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s directive for an urgent plan to cushion South Africans from a looming fuel price hike, amid growing pressure on household budgets and concerns about the wider impact on food prices, transport costs and inflation.

Listen to the interview in the audio player below.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has instructed Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to urgently come up with a plan to protect South Africans from a steep increase in fuel prices expected on 1 April 2026.

The move comes as forecasts point to one of the biggest fuel price hikes in recent years, raising concerns about the cost of living and the broader economy.

Early estimates suggest:

• Petrol (95 octane) could rise by more than R4.70 per litre
• Inland prices may reach around R25 per litre
• Diesel could increase by over R7.80 per litre, pushing prices above R26

Final prices will be confirmed at the end of March, but current data already signals a significant increase.

The Democratic Alliance has proposed, a 50% cut to the general fuel levy and a 50% reduction to the Road Accident Fund (RAF) levy, which could reduce the expected increase by more than R3 per litre.

Speaking to Stephen Grootes on The Money Show, Avhapfani Tshifularo, CEO of the Fuel Industry Association of South Africa says the increase is going to be unprecedented. 

"On diesel, I'm expecting anything around R10. We've never seen anything like that. It's quite scary if you have to think about it."

-  Avhapfani Tshifularo, CEO - Fuel Industry Association of South Africa

"If you're a mine, and consume 300,000 litres per month. Suddenly you must multiply that by 10. That's quite a significant chunk of money."

-  Avhapfani Tshifularo, CEO - Fuel Industry Association of South Africa

"By tomorrow (Tuesday) I'm sure it's going to be chaos out there. Everyone wants to beat this massive price adjustment."

-  Avhapfani Tshifularo, CEO - Fuel Industry Association of South Africa

Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the full interview.