After the recent petrol and diesel fuel price increases, there have been a lot of jokes on social media. Some of the jokes are quite "dodgy". My daughter sent this one to me:
(nothing like the smell of money when eating out)
I just love it. The fuel prices hurt but not much can be done. Since our current government has taken over, lots of taxes have been loaded on to the price. South Africa is defined as a developing nation, that is a bit of an optimistic term. Officially now we are in recession. It is everybody else's fault (of course).
Even though the price of crude oil is lower than in many previous years, prices continue to climb. Obviously our fuel prices are linked to the US Dollar and with all the recent shenanigans with the planned expropriation of land without compensation, the country is being viewed in a dim light.
So I put ZAR 500 diesel fuel into my car on Wednesday. The price per litre is R16.71 and I received 29.92 litres. The petrol price (unleaded fuel) is R17.08 per litre. I live in Gauteng, an inland province, so fuel up here is slightly more expensive than the fuel one can obtain at the coast.
Some comparisons:
In August 2013, unleaded fuel cost R13.55 per litre and Diesel was R12.48 per litre in Gauteng.
In August 2004, unleaded fuel cost R4.00 per litre in Gauteng. Diesel was R3.29 per litre.
Amusingly I found this in a WhatsApp message from 1993 when the ANC sent this stern message to the Nationalist Government.
Yes, things are different when the shoe is on the other foot. Time passes and things are forgotten. This is why I love history so much, people forget and old postures are forgotten.
How silly we all are.