Photo: iStock
Late popular Afrikaans entertainer Tolla van der Merwe may not have lived to experience the current skyrocketing petrol prices, but as far back as the 1990s, he already seemed to know they were coming.
In old video being circulated on TikTok, Van der Merwe can be seen driving into a service station where an attendant prepares to fill petrol in his bakkie. Van der Merwe, however, tells the attendant he doesn’t want petrol.
“No, no, no. I only want water. This thing runs on water. It’s a new bakkie, just bring a can of water.”
The confused attendant protests, telling Van der Merwe the bakkie uses petrol and refuses to put water in the tank.
“My boss is going to reprimand me if I put water.”
ALSO READ: Massive petrol price hike from 1 June – Here’s how much you’ll pay per litre
Van der Merwe proceeds to pour the water in the fake tank installed in the bakkie and asks the attendant how much it costs
“It costs nothing mister.”
However, the car then refuses to start when the ignition is turned with Van der Merwe asking what kind of water they have at the service station, prompting more protests about putting water into a vehicle’s fuel tank.
Van der Merwe tells the now very confused attendant he know why the bakkie won’t start.
“Wait, wait, I forgot something, I have to put a pain tablet in the bakkie’s tank.”
After putting the pain tablet in the tank, the bakkie then starts and Van der Merwe drives off leaving the attendant scratching his head.
In the video, the narrator says, “with the high prices of petrol, we would all love a car that runs on water”.
South Africans are paying massive prices for petrol at the pumps – the highest in history of the country – which is burning a hole in their pockets.
Following the latest increase by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, minus the fuel levy, 93 octane unleaded now costs R23.94 (95 octane R24.17) per litre, while diesel 50ppm will set you back about R23.22 per litre.
If you have a car with a 60-litre petrol tank, to fill it up with 93 octane would cost a whopping R1,436.40.
According to the data by analytics company Global Petrol Prices, South Africa ranks 65th in the world in terms of the most expensive petrol prices per litre.
Global Petrol Prices said the average price of petrol around the world is $1.43 per litre.
“However, there is substantial difference in these prices among countries. As a general rule, richer countries have higher prices while poorer countries and the countries that produce and export oil have significantly lower prices.”
“One notable exception is the US which is an economically advanced country but has low gas prices. The differences in prices across countries are due to the various taxes and subsidies for gasoline,” it said.
It said all countries have access to the same petroleum prices of international markets but then decide to impose different taxes.
“As a result, the retail price of gasoline is different.”
Hong Kong ranked as the country with the most expensive petrol price at R45.53 ($2.962) per litre, followed by Norway at R43.93 ($2.858), Denmark at R41.90 ($2.726) and Finland at R41.12 ($2.675).
Saudi Arabia, which possesses around 17% of the world’s proven petroleum reserves, has a petrol price of just R2.33 ($0.621).
On the African continent, the Central African Republic topped the ranks ahead of South Africa at R37.70 ($2.453) followed by Cape Verde at R28.36 ($1.845) and Morocco at R24.04 ($1.564).
Other African countries include Uganda at R23.06 ($1.50), Senegal at R22.44 ($1.460), Zimbabwe at R22.18 ($1.443), Namibia at R20.32 ($1.322) and Nigeria at R6.39 ($0.416).
ALSO READ: Solidarity considering taking government to court over high petrol prices
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
