“REDUCE THE SUGAR TAX'” – CGCSA

On Tuesday, the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA) advised President Cyril Ramaphosa to reduce sugar tax.

In an open letter written to President Cyril Ramaphosa which was sent on behalf of the CEOs of Shoprite, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Tiger Brands, Burger King, British American Tobacco, Walmart-owned Massmart, Steers-owner Famous Brands and others. According to the CGCSA, the load shedding has “escalated catastrophically” and was crippling businesses.

“The deterioration of other essential infrastructure – including water, roads, rail, and policing – all make our tasks, and those of thousands of other businesses around the country, even more difficult. If this crisis continues, we will not be able to guarantee stable supplies of food, medicines and other essential goods. The government needs to understand this, rather than believe we can maintain business as usual,” the CGCSA said in the letter.

The letter details urgent actions that government needs to take assist businesses, including scrapping the so-called sugar tax. The CGCSA also called for the suspension of the fuel duty and Road Accident Fund levies for the consumer goods businesses and its value chain, “for as long as we suffer regular load shedding”.