By Umamah Bakharia

The Automobile Association (AA) has called on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to initiate an overhaul of how fuel prices are calculated. Godongwana is expected to deliver the budget speech next week Wednesday.

The AA says the government must find ways to mitigate against rising fuel costs that negatively impact all consumers. There is a fear that the fuel price will again rise significantly next month as the price of oil has escalated in the wake of tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Radio Islam spoke to AA’s spokesperson, Layton Beard, on increasing fuel prices.

“Let’s look at each line item on the fuel price, let’s see whether that line item is still required on the fuel price and let’s see if each of those line items is calculated correctly to precisely mitigate against those rising costs,” said Beard.

The AA is calling for the review to determine what government and society can do to deal with rising fuel costs.

According to the AA, the association has picked up an issue with the percentage that Road Accident Fund (RAF) levy takes from the petrol price and suggest that the RAF is not run effectively.

Currently, the two main levies on fuel prices are General Fuel Levy (GFL) is at R3.93 a litre and the Road Accident Fund (RAF) is R2.18 which together comprises R6.11 on a litre.

“What we [the AA] would prefer to see is not for the minister to increase [the GFL] as done previously,” said Beard.

The AA has made a presentation to the parliamentary portfolio committee on mineral resources in March 2021 on fuel prices but say they will continue to investigate increased fuel prices.