Regardless of a small lower in gasoline costs, Neil Roets, CEO of Debt Rescue, says South Africans stay underneath immense monetary strain. He warns that the marginal drop will make no significant influence for households nonetheless paying over R20 per litre on the pumps, because the true disaster lies in skyrocketing meals costs, excessive rates of interest, and unrelenting prices for fundamental providers like electrical energy.
Roets stresses that meals costs have surged past inflation, making nutritious meals unaffordable, particularly for low-income households. Quoting the April 2025 Family Affordability Index, he says the cost of survival is rising sooner than incomes, and tens of millions of South Africans are now not coping.
He warns that South Africans are being crushed by the “mixed onslaught of meals costs which have elevated far above the inflation charge, rates of interest which can be nonetheless among the many highest they’ve been in a decade, and the relentless monetary onslaught from Eskom for an important service that impacts the survival of each man, lady and baby.”
As well as, Roets highlights the influence of VAT on meals, noting that 46% of the family meals basket is topic to VAT, accounting for R324.91 in April alone — cash that would have been used to feed households.
He additionally raises concern over declining take-home pay, citing the BankservAfrica Index which confirmed a 2.5% drop in common salaries in March 2025. This comes as households are already buckling underneath financial pressure.
“South Africans are quick dropping hope,” Roets says. “Till authorities takes significant motion, it’s each man (and lady) for himself.” For a lot of, turning to debt is the one instant possibility, however this solely deepens the lure of unrelenting repayments and excessive curiosity, locking shoppers right into a vicious debt cycle.
Small gasoline worth lower no assist for shoppers in looming tough trip
By Ina Opperman
Enterprise Journalist
The small gasoline worth lower on Wednesday is not going to be of a lot assist for shoppers with a tough trip looming for tens of millions of South Africans who’ve battled their manner by the previous yr regardless of a cost-of-living disaster.
In response to the division of petroleum and mineral assets the value of petrol will lower by 22 cents per litre for 93 and 95 and between 41 and 42 cents per litre for diesel, largely due to steep declines in international oil costs in April as markets have been rattled by US president Donald Trump’s tariffs and commerce wars, whereas the rand weakened barely amid the shocks.
The common Brent crude oil worth declined from $71.04 to $66.40 over the month and the common worldwide product costs for petrol, diesel and illuminated paraffin decreased through the interval underneath evaluate.
Regardless of the excellent news on the pumps, Debt Rescue CEO, Neil Roets, warns that the previous few months have been among the many hardest but for residents from all walks of life and the tiny gasoline worth lower will make no discernible distinction within the lives of shoppers who’re nonetheless going through costs above R20 per litre on the pumps.
As well as, he factors out, rocketing meals costs and unsustainably excessive rates of interest preserve them locked right into a debt cycle that they can not escape.
“Whereas any monetary reduction is clearly welcome, authorities should recognise that South Africans are at breaking level proper now underneath the mixed onslaught of meals costs which have elevated far above the inflation charge, rates of interest which can be nonetheless among the many highest they’ve been in a decade and the relentless monetary onslaught from Eskom for an important service that impacts the survival of each man, lady and baby.”
The value of meals is unsurprisingly on the high of the record of considerations for almost all of households throughout the nation, not least as a result of current worth will increase for fundamental foodstuffs now place dietary meals out of attain, particularly amongst lower-income households, he says.
Whereas the most recent inflation information for South Africa confirmed an easing, meals costs within the nation noticed a pointy enhance. The April 2025 Family Affordability Index confirms the each day actuality going through folks right now: the price of survival is rising sooner than folks can sustain.
“The figures within the April 2025 Family Affordability Index, launched by the Pietermaritzburg Financial Justice and Dignity Group, replicate a brutal reality that tens of millions of South Africans are now not coping,” Roets says.
Nutritious meals off the desk – gasoline worth lower no assist
Aliya Chikte, undertaking officer on the Different Data and Growth Centre (AIDC) agrees, saying that though meals inflation is slowing down, the common value of a family meals basket is unaffordable within the context of mass unemployment and deep impoverishment.
The most recent report exhibits that the common family meals basket, catering for a household of 4, now prices R5 420.30, however a nutritionally enough meals basket is priced at R6 666.26. “That may be a shortfall of R1 245.96, a niche that low-income households merely can’t shut by earnings alone.
“Because of this employees incomes the Nationwide Minimal Wage are R2 000 quick on meals after overlaying simply electrical energy and transport, leaving solely R453.28 per individual monthly for meals, far under the Meals Poverty Line of R796.”
Roets additionally factors out that the impact of VAT on the family meals basket is critical, with 22 of the 44 meals objects within the whole family meals basket topic to VAT. “Meals objects topic to VAT made up 46% of the whole value of the family meals basket in April. With zero-rated meals objects costing R2 929.32 and meals topic to VAT R2 490.97, VAT on the whole family meals basket amounted to R324.91.
“Because of this 6.0% of the family meals basket was made up of VAT. That is cash that could possibly be used to purchase extra meals.”
Decrease gasoline worth no assist for presidency errors and decrease salaries
He says that added to that is the unhappy proven fact that hard-working taxpayers will in the end pay for any errors the federal government makes. “When the Western Cape Excessive Courtroom stopped the tabled VAT hike, it handed the authorized prices on to Treasury and parliament. Because of this taxpayers will find yourself footing this invoice. Precisely how a lot stays to be seen, however it’s prone to run into tons of of 1000’s of rands.”
Including insult to harm is the most recent BankservAfrica Take-Residence Pay Index, which exhibits that nominal common take-home pay declined to 17,811 in March 2025, 2.5% decrease than February’s R18,272. This is because of intensifying financial headwinds domestically and globally that proceed to strain development prospects and confidence ranges, Roets says.
“This raises considerations over potential impacts on employment and earnings within the coming months, regardless of the upward year-on-year momentum. It’s no surprise that South Africans are quick dropping hope, whereas desperately clinging to the assumption that someplace alongside the road, authorities will take motion to show issues round for shoppers.
“Till then, it’s each man (and lady) for himself, it appears. The unhappy reality is that, for too many individuals, turning to conventional debt avenues provides the one instant lifeline and this successfully sentences them to a time period of unrelenting repayments – with curiosity in fact – that traps them in a vicious debt cycle that isn’t simply damaged,” Roets warns.
Learn the orginal article here
