South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday, 19 October, in Sandton that his government was considering further measures to ease higher fuel prices, while warning that paying for the support would reduce resources available for other public programmes.
He estimated the cost of the previous intervention at about 24 billion rand, according to remarks reported by the SABC. Ramaphosa presented the expense as a trade-off between supporting consumers and meeting other budget priorities.
No new fuel-price cut or additional funding package was announced in those remarks. Ramaphosa said the government was examining its options as higher fuel prices affected several countries. He was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the Bana Pele early-childhood summit, according to IOL.