Happy Easter as petrol stations dry up in South Africa

SHOOT: This time of the year is a mini-driving season for many South Africans. Some friends of mine are on their way to Plettenberg Bay in a gas guzzling Land Rover - a distance of 981km as the crow flies.

Petrol stations in South Africa have a lead time of 2 days, and so with the road freight strikers going into a third day, stations are running dry in Durban, Witbank and Pretoria. This is expected to spread rapidly to other centres.

clipped from www.mg.co.za Some petrol stations across the country have run dry as a strike in the road freight industry enters its third day, the Fuel Retailers Association said on Thursday. CEO Reggie Sibiya could not say how many petrol stations had been affected, but added that most complaints had been received from Shell and Chevron. The areas most affected were in Witbank, Pretoria and Durban. "Easter doesn't make it any easier," said Sibiya, as many motorists prepare to go on holiday over the long weekend. Sibiya said that the impact of the road freight strike by the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) members had only been felt on Thursday as most petrol stations had a lead time of two days. No talks were scheduled for Thursday and the strike would continue "indefinitely", Brown said.