In two weeks’ time‚ President Cyril Ramaphosa will announce economic measures to help South Africans deal with rising fuel prices and the recent VAT increase.

According to a statement issued by Parliament on Friday‚ Ramaphosa said: “Our people reside far from workplaces and that simply means having to spend more on travelling and fuel cost. But also small businesses are the engine of growing the economy and job creation‚ which are the objectives of this administration.”

Parliamentary Committee on Economic and Business Development chairperson Mandla Rayi welcomed what he called the “extraordinary step” by Ramaphosa to help South Africans.

“It has never happened that a head of state will go this far and this kind of commitment to a nation is most welcome. This is appreciated‚ especially if one looks at the impact these fuel hikes will have on small struggling businesses. The fuel price hikes were likely to impact negatively on economic growth and menial jobs.”