MISA calls on Government to reduce the fuel levy
5 October 2026
For immediate release
#MISA calls on Government to reduce the fuel levy
#MISA is calling on government to urgently reinstate a temporary General Fuel Levy reduction as petrol crosses the devastating R30 a litre mark for the first time on Wednesday, 7 October.
Minister Gwede Mantashe has confirmed increases of R3.33 a litre for 95 unleaded, R3.12 for 93, and up to R3.24 for diesel. In Gauteng, 95 unleaded will cost R30.25, while 93 unleaded rises to R29.88. At the coast, 95 unleaded will reach R29.38. Illuminating paraffin, the lifeline for the poorest households, will surge by R4.77 a litre. This is a cruel blow as families struggle to cook and keep warm.
Just a month ago, #MISA warned that fuel prices were driving workers below the survival line, with transport and electricity already consuming 65.8% of a minimum wage before food is even bought, as confirmed by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD). This latest increase lands on households with nothing left to absorb it.
Government has acted before. In April, after organised labour pushed for relief through NEDLAC, Treasury cut the General Fuel Levy by R3 a litre and reduced the diesel levy to zero. That relief has lapsed, leaving workers once again exposed to the full levy of R4.10 on petrol and R3.93 on diesel.
“Government has already proven that fuel levy relief is possible, and the conditions that justified it in April are worse today,” says Martlé Keyter, #MISA's Chief Executive Officer: Operations.
“Workers cannot pay R30 a litre to get to work while the state takes more than R4 of every litre. We are asking government to do again what it has already shown it can do.”
#MISA calls for a temporary reduction of the General Fuel Levy by at least R3 a litre on petrol and diesel while oil prices remain at current levels, alongside targeted relief for households reliant on paraffin who were excluded from April’s measures. #MISA is also demanding urgent engagement at NEDLAC to review the levies and margins built into every litre.
Workers are being crushed between fuel, electricity, and food costs. Relief is not optional, it is a matter of survival.
Issued by Sonja Carstens, Manager: Media and Communication, on behalf of MISA.
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