Godongwana, Mantashe to help co-ordinate Sadc fuel, fertiliser supply mission

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the government would help co-ordinate a regional response to the fuel price pressures triggered by the Middle East conflict. Addressing reporters in Cape Town on Thursday morning, she said minister of finance Enoch Godongwana and minister of mineral and petroleum resources Gwede Mantashe were asked to lead the South African contingent of a regionally co-ordinated response to the ongoing fuel price pressures. The objective was to assure security of fuel and fertiliser supply in the region, she said.

The minister said the cabinet had discussed the issue at its meeting on Wednesday after the latest fuel price increases that took diesel past the R30-a-litre mark. “Cabinet continues to intervene to minimise the high cost of fuel as a result of the continuing US-Israel war in Iran that has also impacted the Gulf region,” Ntshavheni said. The minister said the existing fuel levy subsidy relief announced by minister Godongwana was extended to June, while members of cabinet continue to investigate other relief mechanisms. “Cabinet supported the R17.2bn fuel levy subsidy as announced by the minister of finance that will be expended over a three-month period from April to June 2026, and the inter-ministerial task team continues to evaluate other interventions to minimise the impact of the global fuel and fertiliser shortage on South Africans.” Mantashe has told parliament on various occasions, including committee meetings and a National Assembly plenary, that the supply of fuel was not in peril, but that while the country still had ample options for sourcing fuel, price pressures were largely unavoidable.