DA calls on Mantashe to ‘come clean on the country’s dwindling fuel supply’

The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Tuesday called for Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe to inform the public on the challenges facing the petroleum sector as the economy gradually re-opens.

In a statement, DA MP Kevin Mileham said according to information received from the South African Petroleum Industry Alliance (Sapia) and others, the country faces a shortage of diesel over the next few weeks.

The MP said the increase in economic activity had absorbed the surplus that was on hand at the start of the lockdown.

“Minimal refining capacity is online, and there is very limited imported stock arriving on our shores. As at the end of last week, three of South Africa’s six refineries had yet to restart operations, two were in limited production, and the PetroSA facility had halted production temporarily due to product contamination and pipeline failures.

Mileham said the matter meant that diesel was likely to be rationed for the foreseeable future.

He added that the main concern was the fact that South Africa’s strategic fuel reserves were not able to meet demand “due to mismanagement, a lack of clear policy and the political machinations of the ANC government”.

“Given the lengthy lead time to procure, ship, offload and distribute fuel stock, it makes sense to hold sufficient reserves in the country to offset any potential supply chain interruptions.

“The 2013 Draft Strategic Fuel Stocks Policy, which was never adopted, endeavours to ensure the uninterrupted supply of petroleum products throughout the country. At that time, it was estimated that fuel supply shortages would cost South Africa R1 billion per day in lost economic opportunities.

“One of the requirements of the policy was that, over and above the stocks held directly by government, licenced manufacturers and wholesalers of petroleum products would be obliged to hold 14 days of refined products as strategic stocks, but again, that policy was never adopted,” he said.

The MP said it was time for Mantashe to come clean about the state of South Africa’s fuel supply for the next two weeks, and that he urgently address the fact that South Africa’s strategic fuel reserves were, to all intents and purposes, worthless during lockdown.

“South Africa urgently needs to pay attention to its policy in this regard. We cannot continue to ignore the elephant in the room in the hope that it will go away,” he concluded.

(Compiled by Molefe Seeletsa)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.