The south African Fuel Retailers Association (FRA) has welcomed the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judgment which ruled that all new fuel retail licences would be suspended until the minister of energy decided on the matter if existing licence holders were challenging their granting.
Responding to a Business Report media enquiry on Monday, FRA CEO Reggie Sibiya said appeals could take from six to 12 months, or years, as could be seen in this case where the appeal was lodged in 2021, and to date there was no outcome.
“This judgment will ensure that construction does not happen until the affected retailers have exhausted all their legal rights in opposing new to industry sites that will ultimately collapse their volumes and thus render them unviable,” Sibiya said.
“This judgment will promote the Petroleum Products Act (PPA) 2B objectives which the minister has been working against over the years, primarily section 2B(2)(a) which states the DMRE (Department of Mineral Resources and Energy) must promote an efficient retailing petroleum industry. It’s clear the mushrooming of service stations was counter-productive and was leading to a collapse in the industry.”
Above image of Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe. Picture: Itumeleng English/Independent Newspapers
Full story at SA fuel retailers welcome SCA ruling suspending new licences, pending ministerial approval (iol.co.za)
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