‘Petrol Must Fall’ boycott futile, says AA

A ‘Petrol Must Fall’ message has been doing the rounds on WhatsApp urging the public to boycott buying petrol on Wednesday, June 20, Northglen News reports.

“Petrol prices must fall. No car will pour petrol at the station. We are tired of the government petrol increase. We suffer because they want to recover all the money that had been stolen.

READ MORE: Petrol price could increase by another 32 cents in July

“It’s our time to fight back. If not, we are going to remain suffering while the government officials and ANC top guys get the petrol for free, and they don’t feel the pain. Please don’t keep the message, forward it. Petrol price must fall,” the message read.

After the Northglen News had become inundated with these messages, they decided to investigate the viability of such a boycott.

Speaking to the paper last week, Layton Bears, the spokesman for the Automobile Association (AA), said they were not aware of any plans to boycott petrol.

He warned the public against heeding the call, as a one-day boycott would not have any effect on petrol prices.

“Fuel prices are determined by international petroleum prices and the rand vs US dollar exchange rate, and so not buying petrol for one day will not have an impact on the fuel price at all,” he said.

While some petrol stations might feel a ‘pinch’ on the day, he said it would also have no effect on the economy.

“People have to fill up their tanks to get to work or to get their children to school for example, and so there are a lot of different reasons why people would need to use fuel. And even if petrol is boycotted on one day, people will need to fill up the next day,” he said.