Johannesburg - The DA’s spokesperson on energy Kevin Mileham has accused the ANC of failing to prevent a fuel crisis. This comes after a recent report suggests the country is at risk of fuel shortages, which will result in fuel shedding.
Last week, Peter Morgan, CEO of the Liquified Fuels Wholesalers Association (LWFA), warned South Africa of the impending fuel crisis. Morgan said this eventuality might arise soon if the country failed to implement the recommendations of the Moerane Report recommendation of 2006 to keep 90 days’ strategic stock.
Mileham said since the release of the Moerane Commission of Inquiry Report into the fuel crisis that occurred in South Africa in November/December 2005, there had been no follow-up to ensure this problem was averted.
"The ANC government has failed to implement the strategic refined fuel reserves recommendation, placing the country at severe risk of fuel shortages should there be a major disruption in the fuel supply chain."
Mileham said this could be worsened by the recent Transnet strike, which saw the country experiencing major disruptions to its ports and transport networks. Mileham added fuel industry players have, in the past, warned that South Africa is treading close to a major fuel supply crisis due to the unavailability of refined fuel stocks.
Mileham said the party would be submitting an urgent question to Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe in a bid to force him to address the country on the issue.
"He must inform the country about the status of South Africa’s fuel reserves. We will further seek to ensure that he provides us with any documentation detailing any action plans that were taken by the department since 2006 to effect the implementation of the strategic refined fuel reserve recommendation by the Moerane Commission," he said.
"In 2006, minister of Minerals and Energy at the time, Buyelwa Sonjica, appointed an 11-member panel, which was headed by Advocate Marumo Moerane. The objective of the panel was to review the circumstances that resulted in fuel supply shortages in November/December 2005. Some of the panel’s terms of reference included "establish the causes of the fuel supply shortages, formulate and present recommendations to the Minister, which will enable the government and other stakeholders to take appropriate steps to prevent a recurrence of the fuel crisis," among other things.
Following this investigation, it was established the country does not hold strategic refined product inventories. The Commission subsequently recommended the government should review its policy on strategic fuel stocks. This was to be done through public-private partnerships. The Commission further advised that oil companies and synthetic fuel plants should be obliged to hold prudent commercial levels of refined product stock.
The DA said 16 years later, this has not been implemented as disruptions to fuel supplies seem to be something that will in the near future become a reality, much like water shedding and load shedding as seen in recent months.
"Disruptions to the supply of refined liquid fuel (arising from inadequate port infrastructure, ongoing labour action, and a shortage of refining capacity) will have far-reaching consequences to the economy and social order. The immediate impact will be the upending of supply chains, which will severely constrain productivity in the economy. Consumers could potentially face a food supply crisis as food wholesalers and distributors struggle to transport food stocks where they are needed
"The ANC government has had 16 years to implement the Moerane Commission findings but has essentially chosen to ignore them. They must provide immediate answers for this inaction and the steps that will be taken in the short to medium term before South Africa is forced to contend with a fuel supply crisis. Any further failure to resolve this situation will ultimately result in ANC-shedding in 2024," he said.
The Star