While South Africans brace for huge April fuel price increases, the government clarifies that there is no official policy encouraging employees to work from home.
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The South African government is not proposing an official policy that employees work from home once the April fuel price hikes kick in.
The latest data from the Central Energy Fund is forecasting a R4.67 per litre increase for petrol 93, R5.20 for petrol 95, R8.95 for diesel 0.05%, and R9.08 per litre increase for diesel 0.005%. Independent economist John Loos said earlier this week that the fuel price hikes would likely see debate heat up around work from home and hybrid work models that were used effectively during the Covid-19 pandemic as households try to tighten their belts.
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources has clarified that comments suggesting employees could work from home to cope with rising fuel costs do not represent official government policy.
The department explained that Robert Maake, the director of the Fuel Pricing Mechanism, had offered an example of working from home in response to a question and the suggestion was not intended as a formal recommendation or policy directive.
"The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources wishes to clarify recent media reports that reference remarks made by the Director of Fuel Pricing in the Department suggesting that working from home could help employees manage the impact of rising fuel costs," the department said.
"The Department categorically states that these remarks were made in response to a question from the floor during a workshop on fuel pricing mechanisms. In that context, working from home was mentioned purely as an example of one of several possible options that individuals or organisations might consider to mitigate rising transport-related costs".
The department also said that it remains focused on addressing fuel supply, pricing, and other cost-of-living pressures affecting South Africans.
"It is therefore incorrect to report or interpret the response given during the workshop as an official position or policy proposal of the department or government. The response was not presented as a directive, recommendation, or policy intervention, but rather as part of a broader discussion during the workshop".
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