BusinessTech Africa has gathered that companies such as Coca Cola and Burger King have asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to cut fuel taxes.
Per a report on Fin24, the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) wrote a letter to Ramaphosa urging him to scrap the sugar tax, as well as suspend the fuel duty and road accident fund levies for the industry amid record levels of the ongoing load shedding.
The communique sent on behalf of the CEOs of Shoprite, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Tiger Brands, Burger King, British American Tobacco, Walmart-owned Massmart, Steers-owner Famous Brands, and others – the CGCSA says that load shedding has “escalated catastrophically” and was crippling businesses.
The CGCSA represents 12 000 businesses in South Africa and this list includes top manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers.
“The deterioration of other essential infrastructure – including water, roads, rail, and policing – all make our tasks, and those of thousands of other businesses around the country, even more difficult,” the CGCSA said in the letter.
“If this crisis continues, we will not be able to guarantee stable supplies of food, medicines, and other essential goods. The government needs to understand this, rather than believe we can maintain business as usual.”
In the letter signed by CGCSA and Pick n Pay chairperson Gareth Ackerman, it pointed out that the cost of power generators is unsustainable, and would result in higher prices for already-embattled consumers.
Additionally, CGCSA noted that its industry is a “critical sector that should be considered for fuel rebates similar to the mining, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors”.
It argued that effective taxes and other incentives were also needed to install localised renewable energy at small and medium scale.
The letter comes as Ramaphosa seemingly fired a broadside at the private sector at the Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Tuesday, urging it not just to criticise, but to work together with the government to solve SA’s problems, such as its energy crisis.
