Neil Roets, CEO of Debt Rescue, said the rapid increase in illuminating paraffin prices was adding to an already severe financial burden on households.
“The recent and rapid escalation in the price of illuminating paraffin has dealt a compounding blow to South African households, unfolding into an economic emergency that the country’s consumers simply cannot absorb,” Roets said.
The pressure is compounded by South Africa’s unemployment rate, which rose to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026, according to the latest data from Statistics South Africa released on 11 August.
Roets said the unemployment figure highlighted the financial constraints facing millions of households and the limited alternatives available to those relying on paraffin as a primary energy source.
“We at Debt Rescue see firsthand how these unrelenting cost pressures push vulnerable consumers into deeper financial distress when every available buffer is gone,” he said.
According to Roets, rising essential costs are forcing households to make increasingly difficult choices between competing necessities.
“When a core household necessity sees such steep price movement, consumers are cornered into an untenable equation where they are forced to sacrifice nutritional food or go without basic heat and light,” he said.
The pressure comes against a backdrop of food inflation, rising utility costs and weak economic growth, leaving households with fewer opportunities to absorb additional increases.
Roets said many consumers had already cut discretionary spending and were operating with little financial room.
“Families are running out of room to manoeuvre, having long cut every discretionary expense imaginable,” he said.
Roets also pointed to data from the Fuel Industry Association of South Africa showing significant volatility in the official price of illuminating paraffin during 2026.
He said end-month projections indicated consumers could face another significant increase heading into September, although the information provided does not specify the projected price.
For households already struggling with debt, further increases in essential energy costs could have consequences beyond the immediate cost of cooking, heating and lighting.
Roets warned that when essential living costs rise faster than household incomes, consumers can be pushed further into debt simply to cover basic necessities.
The calls from MISA and Debt Rescue come as households continue to navigate a difficult combination of high unemployment and rising costs.