President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday urged South Africans to unite against increasing current and future commodity prices even though they have little control over the situation.
He noted that although oil prices and extreme weather patterns are events over which most South Africans had little control, they still had the power to ensure that their effects are lessened.
These increases, particularly the price of fuel and cooking oil, are the consequence of events over which the country has little control, he said.
“There is still much we can do as government, business, labour and communities to help the people of South Africa through this difficult time,” Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter to the nation.
He admitted that over the past few months South African consumers had been hit by steep price increases that have dramatically affected their quality of life, with food inflation now pegged at 6.2 percent.
He said while these rising costs affected everyone, low-income households were feeling the pinch the most.
His government would continue to monitor the situation closely and do everything within its power to protect South Africans from unsustainable increases in the cost of living, the president said.
“Corporate South Africa should ensure that consumers do not pay more for food than they have to,” Ramaphosa said.
He added: “We welcome the indications from food manufacturers and retailers that they are putting measures in place to help consumers get more for their money.”
He said the government would use the competition policy to protect consumers against unjustifiable price increases and anti-competitive practices by businesses, “as we did during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
NM/jn/APA