To many it is excruciating to live in a cruel capitalistic world.

While the price of food goes up around the world, oil companies are making huge profits and their share prices are rising.

We cannot expect the governments of the oil producing countries to do something about the scourge in the oil price, because they obviously are the huge beneficiaries.

Given the drop in the value of money due to inflation, an average person in the Third World, according to World Bank standards, lives on less than US$ 2 a day, equivalent to almost about less than ZAR 15 a day.

Evidently, the cruel part of this phenomenon is that poor people in the Third World are the most affected.

Oil companies justify the rise in oil prices to excess demand and short supply.

This means that oil reserves could be running out.

If there is not enough supply to meet the high demand, why not use excess profits in exploring further reserves? Seemingly there is lack of will.

However, there are probably few unexplored oil reserves, if any under the earth’s surface.

Oil is not a seasonal thing, like rain, it is a dwindling resource, like gold, copper, platinum etc.

The best possible option is to find an alternative to oil, such as the production of electric engines.

Attempts on the latter were made in the past but were confronted by immense lack of political will and ‘bureaucratic protectionism by rich countries that benefit from oil revenues.

If there was a crisis in oil supply something would have been done a long time ago.

Unless alternatives to oil are free to be explored or producers increase oil production, the hike of food prices could continue.

ASA NOGEMANE

Khayelitsha