Down with the government using fuel prices to raise money

The possible silver lining behind the cloud of the outrageous fuel price increases announced on Tuesday is that it may be the catalyst for community action about how our government uses – and abuses – its citizens.

Those jumping on the populist bandwagon of fuel price anger, like the Democratic Alliance (DA), do have a good point.

The DA says the whopping 33% of the pump price which goes to the government in various taxes and levies can surely be cut.

The basic price of the fuel is only 48% of what you pay. After the taxes, retail and wholesale margins and storage and distribution costs account for a further 20%.

The fuel price has, over the years, been a soft target for the ANC government to raise money.

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After all, it requires no special mechanisms to collect and relies on the fact there is a steady income stream from all motorists who, due to our poor public transport systems, have no option but to use vehicles.

What is worrying is that, despite the obvious mounting public anger – as awareness has grown of how we are being milked – and the fact that a rising fuel price is a lit fuse for a cost-of-living explosion, the government has not looked for alternative revenue streams.

Not only that, the government money pipeline has been sorely abused by the ANC’s own thieves and looters, meaning less is being done, in terms of service delivery, poverty alleviation, and job creation, than could be with our money.

Our slowly sliding economy – thanks mainly to the government – also means we pay more, because of a depreciated rand, for bulk fuel supplies.

Sadly, though, this addiction is not an ANC problem. In the UK, 48% of the fuel price goes to the government.

All over the world, we need to rid ourselves of governments which are leaches.