A group calling itself Concerned Citizens of South Africa wants a “total national shutdown” on 19 October 2026, with workers staying home and learners staying out of school, to pressure government into cutting the General Fuel Levy (GFL, the tax added to every litre of petrol and diesel), reports BusinessTech. The call follows an October fuel price increase that pushed petrol past R30 a litre.
Group representative Ntokozo Mkhize confirmed that the viral poster calling for the shutdown came from the group. He said it is “purely a people’s movement” with no political party affiliation. Government has not responded to the call, according to BusinessTech’s report.
What the group wants
The group’s demands, as BusinessTech reports them, are a R3 per litre cut to the GFL and scrapping the Road Accident Fund (RAF) levy entirely. The GFL currently adds R4.10 a litre and the RAF levy adds R2.25, together R6.35 on every litre of petrol.
These are claims and demands by an activist group. BusinessTech’s report does not say how many people have committed to staying away from work or school, and none of the available reporting shows that employers, unions or authorities have endorsed the shutdown.
The October increase
The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources announced the October adjustments, reported by TopAuto. From Wednesday 7 October 2026, 93 octane petrol rose by R3.12 a litre and 95 octane by R3.33 a litre. Wholesale diesel rose by R2.84 a litre (0.05% sulphur) and R3.58 a litre (0.005% sulphur).
Inland, 95 octane petrol now costs R30.25 a litre and 93 octane R29.88. Wholesale diesel (0.05%) is R31.95 inland and (0.005%) R33.29. TopAuto attributes the rise to continued US and Iran tensions and uncertainty over oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The department’s review period saw Brent crude (the international oil benchmark) rise from $87 to $101 a barrel. The rand averaged R16.21 to the US dollar over the period. A slate levy of 87.66 cents a litre also applies to both fuels under the Self-Adjusting Slate Levy Mechanism.
The Automobile Association’s case
The Automobile Association (AA) has been making a similar argument. In a statement reported by BusinessTech, the AA called for fuel prices to be cut by R5.25 a litre. It wants the RAF levy scrapped, the GFL cut by R3 a litre as Treasury did in April 2026, and plans for further fuel tax increases dropped.
The AA was also responding to a proposal from the RAF to Treasury to raise its fuel levy to R3 a litre. The AA says the levy has risen once in six years, by 7 cents for 2026/27, to R2.25. It called the R3 proposal “consumer tone-deafness” and said “Gouging the consumer is not the answer.”
According to the AA, the April cut of R3 a litre cost roughly R17 billion, and it described that cut as short-term relief that needed a longer-term strategy. It puts net RAF levy collections at R47.8 billion in the financial year it refers to, and says about 25% of the fuel price is tax. It also says diesel has roughly doubled this year, from about R17 a litre in January to more than R34.
Treasury’s position and what could come next
The AA reports that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said in September that further temporary fuel tax relief would carry a cost that would have to be recovered elsewhere or funded by more borrowing. The AA disputes this and says government could pay for relief by cutting wasteful spending, including on failing state companies.
The AA also cites early Central Energy Fund data suggesting wholesale diesel could rise by a further R2.56 to R2.91 a litre in November, and petrol by more than R4 a litre. These are early data, not an announced adjustment.
For employers, the AA suggests reviewing transport allowances and, where possible, allowing one remote working day a week, which it says would cut a five-day commuter’s weekly transport bill by a fifth. It says some low-income workers spend up to 40% of their pay getting to and from work.
Shutdown calls over fuel prices have been made before in South Africa, and whether this one gains support will only be clear on the day. Source: BusinessTech.
