Business sectors heavily dependent on fuel in Nelson Mandela Bay, Eastern Cape, are preparing for significant price increases expected this week, with indications pointing to rises of as much as R5 per litre for petrol and R9 per litre for diesel.
Atlas Security, a local company that employs more than 450 staff, operates a wide network of around 400 cameras focused on community surveillance across the metro. The firm also deploys armed response vehicles that assist law enforcement agencies in fighting crime and tracking stolen vehicles. Its operations rely on constant movement and rapid response capabilities.
Brand manager Ryan Morris highlighted the critical role of fuel in the company’s day-to-day functions. The firm receives between 2.4 and 2.6 million signals per month, of which around 150,000 are emergency signals related to panics, burglaries, and similar incidents. The remainder involve issues such as air conditioning failures and power signals.
“Every single one of those 150,000 emergency-based signals, we need to treat as an absolute emergency and that someone’s life is in danger,” Morris said. “So you can’t start looking at the bottom line when someone is in danger. Service delivery has to come above the bottom line for security teams on the ground.”
Response operations also extend to assisting stranded motorists on the roadside. Any reduction in patrol visibility or response capacity could leave those motorists more exposed, he noted.
Morris drew a contrast with other businesses, such as delivery companies, which might adjust from a seven-day cycle to three or four deliveries per week to manage costs. “We don’t have that option,” he explained. “There’s only certain signals we’ll respond to. There’s only certain crimes that we’ll focus on. There’s only certain clients we’ll focus on.”
He emphasised that scaling back operational efforts would place clients’ lives and properties in danger. “The fuel element at the moment in the operational movement with vehicles is absolutely critical.”
Atlas Security is currently discussing strategies to prepare for the rising fuel costs while ensuring response teams can continue protecting communities and safeguarding the jobs of its nearly 450 employees.
Economists have warned that the increases could further strain already stretched households, triggering ripple effects across multiple sectors of the economy.
The anticipated adjustments, expected around 1 April, come amid broader pressures including international crude oil price movements and a scheduled 21 cents per litre increase in the general fuel levy. Fuel-dependent industries, logistics, and security services are among those facing the most immediate challenges in maintaining service levels without compromising safety or employment.