Who and what is AfriForum?

AfriForum is an Afrikaans civil rights organisation that protects the rights of minority groups at national as well as provincial level, and anyone who can identify with AfriForum’s principles and objectives may join the organisation. AfriForum’s community plan focuses on mobilising communities to thus take control of their own streets and neighbourhoods again. AfriForum ensures that your constitutional and civil rights are recognised and protected at national level.

Wie en wat is AfriForum?

AfriForum is ’n Afrikaanse burgerregteorganisasie wat die regte van minderheidsgroepe op sowel nasionale as provinsiale vlak beskerm, en enigiemand wat met AfriForum se beginsels en doelstellings kan identifiseer, mag by die organisasie aansluit. AfriForum se gemeenskapsplan fokus daarop om gemeenskappe te mobiliseer om só weer beheer terug te neem oor hul eie strate en woonbuurtes. AfriForum verseker dat jou grondwetlike én burgerregte op nasionale vlak erken en beskerm word.

AfriForum investigates status of South Africa’s strategic fuel reserves amid global energy crisis

Soundbite: Ernst van Zyl (English)

Soundbite: Ernst van Zyl (Afrikaans)

The civil rights organisation AfriForum today sent a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) requesting detailed information and clarity regarding the country’s strategic fuel reserves. This comes amid a worsening global energy crisis due to the escalating Iran conflict. Experts have expressed concern about the fact that South Africa may have just two to three weeks of fuel reserves left with prices set to surge in April. This is far below global benchmarks, which require reserves for at least 90 days. The government insists there is no cause for panic but continues to refuse to disclose the state of the nation’s fuel reserves.

According to Ernst van Zyl, Head of Public Relations at AfriForum, the Strategic Fuel Fund (SFF) “Oilgate” scandal from 2016 has become a hotly debated issue again 10 years later as uncertainty and secrecy surround the status of South Africa’s strategic fuel reserves. “Many people have forgotten that in 2015/2016 the ANC-led South African government sold over 10 million barrels of the country’s strategic oil reserves and got ripped off in the process,” continues Van Zyl.

The deal was fraught with irregularities, secrecy and it was revealed that the SFF’s then-acting CEO, Sibusiso Gamede, received millions in suspicious payments, alleged to be bribes, around the time of the deals. In 2020 the High Court in Cape Town overturned these oil sales, ruling that they were illegal, invalid and marred with corruption. However, the financial damage was already done, at taxpayer expense, and the funds necessary to increase the country’s low strategic fuel reserves were wasted.

Through its PAIA application, AfriForum has requested the DMRE to provide the following information:

1. The most recent official documented quantities of South Africa’s proven, probable and possible strategic fuel reserves.

2. A year-by-year breakdown of fluctuations in South Africa’s strategic fuel reserves over the past 10 years, including any changes in classification or reporting methodology.

3. A year-by-year account of how South Africa’s strategic fuel reserves have been utilised over the past 10 years, including:

Quantities released or consumed annually.
The purposes for which reserves were used (e.g., strategic supply, emergencies, market stabilisation, sale or other uses).
Any policies or decisions guiding such usage.

4. Any internal or commissioned reports discussing energy security in relation to strategic fuel reserves.

5. Information on partnerships or collaborations with international entities regarding strategic fuel reserves development.

6. Any policies or frameworks governing the disclosure, classification or confidentiality of strategic fuel reserves data.

Earlier this month AfriForum urged Enoch Godongwana, the Minister of Finance, to provide relief to the South African economy and consumers by cutting the fuel levy.