Saai successful against Department of Mineral Resources and Energy prohibition

The Southern African Agri Initiative (Saai) has successfully pressured the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to withdraw its prohibition on the retail and dispensing of petrol and diesel into containers.

Following the national riots and looting of July 2021, the Department issued regulations prohibiting the dispensing of petrol and diesel into containers. On 15 July 2021 Saai’s attorneys urgently wrote to the Minister calling for the irrational regulations to be withdrawn. On 16 July 2021 the Minister announced that the regulations would be withdrawn. However, this was never done.

Consequently, on 22 July 2021 and 4 November 2021 Saai’s attorneys wrote to the Minister again, urging him to honour the Department’s undertaking to withdraw the regulations. In December 2021 Saai issued court papers against the Minister to compel the withdrawal of the regulations.

After being formally served with Saai’s court papers, the Minister has gazetted the withdrawal of the regulations.

“The unrest has by now long come and gone. Fuel supply in the country has stabilised long ago. There is no longer a need for any restriction. The ban has already had a detrimental effect on the operations of a number of farmers who cannot purchase fuel in containers as they always used to do. It’s a shame that we had to approach the Court to compel the Department to withdraw these irrational and detrimental regulations,” says Francois Rossouw, Chief Executive Officer of Saai.