Work-from-home 'not government policy' amid rising fuel costs
The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Department clarified that working from home is not official policy despite rising fuel costs, as the government considers fuel levy cuts amid sharp petrol and diesel price increases driven by Middle East tensions.
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has clarified that working from home is not an official government response to rising fuel costs.
This comes after the director of fuel pricing, Robert Maake, suggested remote work as one of several possible ways consumers could manage rising fuel costs.
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The department’s Lerato Ntsoko says no directive has been issued, and any formal policy decisions on fuel pricing or cost-of-living measures will be communicated through official channels.
“These remarks were made in response to a question from the floor during a workshop on oil pricing mechanisms. In that context, working from home was mentioned purely as an example of one of several possible options that individual organisations might consider to mitigate rising transport-related costs.
“The response was not presented as a directive recommendation or policy intervention.”
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says the cabinet has set up a committee to investigate whether the fuel levy should be cut to ease the looming spike in fuel prices.
Answering questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Godongwana said the government would have to consider a range of options to temper the impact of the surge in prices caused by the Middle East war.
Iran has virtually closed the vital Strait of Hormuz -- through which a fifth of global crude and gas flows -- since the United States and Israel began striking the country on February 28.
According to the Central Energy Fund, South Africans will see the petrol price rise by nearly R6,00 a litre and diesel by more than R9,00 a litre from the 1st of April.
