South Africans Get Respite After Fuel Price Flub

South Africans contending with power shortages, record-high unemployment and a new coronavirus variant finally got a sliver of good news. 

While the energy department announced on Nov. 29 that the gasoline price would jump by 81 cents (5 U.S. cents) a liter this month, it said Wednesday that it had erred in its calculations and the increase would be limited to 75 cents. The mistake was linked to an adjustment in filling station workers’ wages that had previously been accounted for. 

“It is for the very first time that such an error has occurred in the history of basic fuel price determination in South Africa,” the department said in a statement. “The DMRE profusely apologizes for the inconvenience caused.” 

Regulated fuel prices, which include a tax used to finance a fund to compensate those involved in accidents and other levies, have jumped almost 40% this year because they are linked to international oil prices.