From the Editor’s Desk

October 7, 2026

The price of petrol and diesel is up again. Arrrgh! C’mon, admit it. Don’t you sometimes wish South Africa was cocooned from the outside world like it was back in the sanctions days? Now, before anyone reads that the wrong way, I certainly don’t wish us back to the apartheid era – the very reason the world imposed those stringent sanctions on the country. Absolutely not. But those sanctions forced South Africa into a self-sufficiency mode that resulted in some remarkable industrial developments.

Remember Atlantis Diesel Engines? When sanctions were in full swing, South Africa’s truck manufacturers were compelled by law and circumstances to use locally produced ADE engines. They were easy to maintain and at the end of their lives, you simply swapped your shagged ADE engine for a reconditioned unit from ProPower, ADE’s sister company. Then there was Astas, manufacturing axles from its high-tech factory on the East Rand. And, of course, long before ADE came Sasol – the South African Coal, Oil and Gas Corporation – established in 1950 to manufacture synthetic fuel from South Africa’s abundant coal reserves and reduce the country’s dependence on imported crude oil.

I can give many other examples of the inward-looking focus that saw South Africa become something of a mini-industrial giant – albeit largely out of necessity and for its own survival. Heck, in those days an export order to Swaziland was celebrated as a major event. The point is not to romanticise the political system that created those circumstances. Far from it. It is the self-sufficiency that emerged from them that interests me – rather like going off-grid today so you are no longer totally dependent on Eskom for your electricity. Then came 1994.

South Africa celebrated its first democratic elections and the world opened its arms to welcome us back into the global community. The inauguration at the Union Buildings of the late Nelson Mandela as the first President of the new democratic South Africa was attended by world leaders from across the globe. Things changed quickly.

Truck OEMs that had previously been compelled to fit locally produced engines began sourcing their own, more advanced engines from their international parent companies. I remember Isuzu being among the first to make the move, with others soon following. Manufacturers that had withdrawn from South Africa during the sanctions years returned. It was all systems go.

South Africa was travelling a new road and trucking was thriving. It was thrilling to be part of the global community again. We were mixing it with the big boys. And, in the main, that remains a very good thing. But there are times – like now – when it sucks. South Africa remains heavily dependent on imported crude oil and refined fuel products, which means much of what we pay at the pumps is determined by forces far beyond our borders. International oil and petroleum-product prices, shipping costs, geopolitical tensions and the Rand/Dollar exchange rate all feed into the price we eventually pay. And right now, those forces are hurting us badly.

Since the Middle East conflict erupted earlier this year, international oil markets have been hammered by geopolitical uncertainty and concerns over security of supply. The result has been a brutal escalation in South African fuel prices, culminating in yet another massive increase this month. And what can South Africa do to prevent it?

Very little. That is the part that really gets to me. We are not masters of our own fuel destiny. Decisions taken thousands of kilometres away – in Washington, Tehran, Moscow and other centres of geopolitical power – can ultimately determine what a South African truck operator pays to fill a 500-litre diesel tank. We are largely onlookers who have to suck up whatever the world throws our way. And that sucks.

Which brings me back to Sasol. You were born to turn South Africa’s own resources into fuel and reduce our dependence on imported crude. You didn’t quite go the full way. So, here’s a thought. Want to try again?

Patrick O’Leary
Managing Editor, FleetWatch