Govt takes drastic action to ease fuel prices, but can SA afford to lose its strategic fuel stocks - again?

Just as security of fuel supply concerns come to the fore, the government has opted to sell off South Africa's strategic oil stocks to compensate for the revenue forfeited to provide a temporary drop in the fuel levy.

The sale of the strategic stocks to raise R6 billion provides the government with the financial breathing room to offer a R1.50 per litre drop in the fuel price until May - a widely welcomed reprieve as oil prices hit 14-year highs when it surpassed $120 a barrel last month as the implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine set in.

It does, however, raise questions over the importance of strategic stocks and their role in security of fuel supply for the country, especially at a time when risks around global fuel supply are heightened.