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Is there no end to the shafting of South African consumers? Seems not after an investigation by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has revealed that 70 gas stations in South Africa are selling watered-down diesel.

The names of these unscrupulous vendors have not yet been released, but according to an article in The South African, the DA is now jumping on the case, saying they “are concerned about the findings”. Being an election year, any dirt will do, so we will probably know soon enough.

The DA’s spokesperson on mobility in the Western Cape, where four of these garages were found, said, “This poses a major threat to vehicle engines and can potentially cause significant mechanical problems.”

“Minister Gwede Mantashe must make sure that the names of these petrol stations are made known so that residents of the Western Cape can be made aware of the stations that sell fake diesel.”

The Automobile Association (AA) is also ‘voicing its concern’.

“How widespread the problem is, I think we simply don’t know. The big problem of course for consumers is that there is no way for them to actually know if the diesel they are buying is contaminated or not, unless you take a sample of your fuel and you actually have it tested at a greater expense, you will have that result.”

Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) spokesperson Makhosonke Buthelezi the watering down of fuel came to light during ‘a routine annual exercise’ rather than a full-on investigation.

“The department randomly visits fuel retailers and wholesalers to sample and test diesel. We test at least 1500 of retailers from the more than 5000 we have in the country. So, in the tests conducted between April and December 2023, 70 had adulterated diesel.”.

Watering down fuel is illegal (obviously) and the DMRE sees this as tax evasion. Aside from taking money from the state, this is a slap in the face of consumers who already pay bloated prices for fuel.

If it were distillers found out watering down the booze they sold, we would be burning s*** down already.

The alleged ‘dodgy diesel list’ includes all the provinces, which could suggest supply chain involvement as well as manipulation at the garages. In South Africa, who knows?

[source:thesouthafrican]