Jacob Zuma: Food Prices are a Political Time Bomb

South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) party President Jacob Zuma has warned that rocketing food prices are a political “time bomb” that will lead to social uprising if not solved quickly.

Zuma warned that the only way to really solve this crisis was through a multilateral approach that includes an acknowledgment of where the problem begins - fuel prices.

“We should be aware that the issue of food prices is a time bomb. When those with no money are cut out from the possibility of even buying food, there will be an uprising from those who do not have the luxury of rationalizing why it is all happening.

“The planned marches we are seeing in South Africa about this are the beginning,” he told the World Economic Forum meeting in Cape Town on Thursday.

His sentiments on the root cause of the problem being oil prices were echoed by Finance Minister Trevor Manuel who said that the rate at which the oil price has increased in the last few years “cannot be a demand and supply response.”

“When the fisherman in Brussels start protesting and asking their government to subsidize their diesel costs, then you must know that this is going to put fisherman across the world, especially in the developing world, out of business,” said Manuel.

Zuma added: No matter how much we improve production, it is not going to solve the problem unless we find a solution to the fuel price.”

Source African Press Agency

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