DURBAN - KwaZulu-Natal premier Sihle Zikalala has urged the national government to buy SA Petroleum Refinery (Sapref) from its foreign owners to stop the closure of the company.
The premier announced this during his State of the Province Address in Pietermaritzburg Agricultural Showgrounds on Thursday.
The premier said his government was taken aback by the company's announcement that it planned to halt operations next month, saying this prompted his government to immediately intervene and asked the national government to buy the oil refinery and turn it into state-owned entity.
He added that his government has already met the oil company management.
“We are disappointed by the decision of Sapref to indefinitely suspend refinery operations in Durban by the end of March 2022. The announcement comes not so long after Engen Refinery announced a similar decision regarding their operations in Durban,” said the premier.
He further said the provincial government was of the firm view that retaining refinery operations in the province was key for economic growth and job creation rather than solely relying on importing refined oil.
“For that reason, we have called on the national government to buy Sapref, not only to protect jobs but to build the capacity of the state. It cannot be that the country will remain dependent on foreign-owned, private conglomerates who are only driven by the profit motive and owe no loyalty to our developmental agenda,” Zikalala said.
Cosatu in the province was set to meet the refinery management on Thursday to discuss the closure. The federation provincial secretary Edwin Mkhize told the Daily News on Wednesday that his union was concerned about the loss of jobs that would result from the closure.
Sapref, situated in Durban, is the largest crude oil refinery in southern Africa. Despite employing 800 permanent staff it is believed that more than 2 000 workers are employed by its15 contractors. The Daily News understands that workers are already noticed until the end of March.
Daily News