Rumbidzo Chikomo

Durban truck drivers have shown concerns after petrol prices went up by R1,73 per litre and diesel by R1,74 per litre, on Wednesday the 1^st of July.

This increase seems to be causing problems for truck drivers as it might result in them receiving a lower income.

Fleet Manager of QuestRoyal Investments, a truck company, Criswell Kwangwari, explained that this increase in fuel prices means that the company will have to make some adjustments to avoid having high expenses.

“This increase in fuel prices forces us to minimise the number of trucks we use as well as the number of shifts per truck driver to cut costs,” said Kwangwari.

Siphesihle Ngema, a truck driver, said that this is going to have a negative impact on his life. With less hours to work, this driver’s income is now forced to be reduced to balance their hours of work.

“This increase is a big problem for us because now we work for less hours meaning lower pay and lower pay means that we can’t support our families,” said Ngema.

According to an online article by The South African, the department of Energy explained the reason for the sudden increase in fuel prices. They stated that earlier in April oil prices had decreases as there was less demand for it due to the lockdown caused by Covid 19.

With the lockdown being lifted in many places oil is in demand again only making it more costly. South Africa being reliant on oil exports has no choice than to raise petrol prices back to how they were before the pandemic hit the country.

Picture: Businessinsider.co.za