SA faces fuel shortage
ON THE CARDS: Looting suffocating petrol supply. File photo
The AA has warned that the country could face fuel shortages soon should the riots in Gauteng and KZN continue.
AA spokesperson Layton Beard, however, called on people not to panic as there was still enough fuel.
This comes as the SA Petroleum Refineries outside Durban declared a “force majeure”, and motorists streamed to petrol stations to fill-up.
Some service stations in Tshwane yesterday said they still had fuel for about two days left.
The SA Petroleum Refineries said in a letter issued to its suppliers that due to the civil unrest in the country and disruption of supply routes in and out of KwaZulu-Natal, suppliers of critical materials communicated the suspension of deliveries over safety concerns.
Consequently, the SA Petroleum Refineries, the largest crude oil refinery in the country with 35% of SA’s refining capacity, had shut down.
A motorist, who did not want to be identified, said she was only able to put in a maximum of R400’s worth of petrol, as the petrol station rationed motorists in fear of running dry.
Meanwhile hundreds of residents in Soweto, with the aid of the local taxi association and the police, took charge of the streets and are rejecting any further attempts to loot shops.
Zizi Kodwa, the Deputy Minister for State Security, said the unrest was well orchestrated and aimed at destabilising the country.
“They are destroying the distribution food network from Durban so there must be panic in the country so that people can’t access food; it is well planned by the instigators,” he said.
“That is why we are going to communities talking to people because they do not know what is going on.”
Police Minister Bheki Cele said intelligence gathered in advance by law-enforcement agencies averted many potential disasters, including the burning of a hospital full of patients in Durban.
“(They were) literally planning to burn the hospital with patients inside. That was averted.
“They were planning to burn the legislature and things like those in KZN.”
The riots have left nearly 100 people dead and over a thousand arrested.