Fuel prices will drop next month, Ruto says

President William Ruto Commissioned the construction of the 54-Kilometre Sagana-Thiguku, Mururi-Kiumbuini, Kirwara-Kagio and Karaini-Kangaita Roads in Ndia, Kirinyaga County. [PCS]

President William Ruto on Saturday assured Kenyans that fuel prices will go down in December.

Ruto said that while fuel prices have gone up globally, his administration had started looking into ways of stabilizing the prices.

“You have seen that this month the prices have started to decrease. Next month, they will go down even further,” said the President, who spoke in Kirinyaga County where he commissioned the construction of the Sagana-Kathaka-Thiguku road.

The fuel prices, last month, stood at Sh217.36 for a litre of petrol, Sh205.47 for diesel and Sh204.46 for kerosene, in Nairobi. They remained unchanged for a litre of petrol in the November-December cycle while diesel and kerosene dropped by Sh2.

He defended the Government-to-Government oil deal between Kenya, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, saying it was of this arrangement that has stabilised prices.

“When we took over office, most of our fuel stations did not have sufficient fuel. There were huge queues of motorists at fuel stations due to the scarcity of the commodity. I went and talked to the governments  of Saudi Arabia and UAE over the crisis. That is why we have plenty of fuel in the country today,” Dr Ruto said.

He claimed Kenya is getting the commodity at a fair price compared to other East African countries due to the G-to-G oil agreement.

“Our neighbours, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, are on their way to having the similar agreements that I entered into with the governments of Saudi Arabia and UAE,” Dr Ruto said.

Despite Ruto’s remark, Tanzania, through Energy and Water Utilities Regulatory Authority (EWURA), announced a decrease in the price of petroleum products early this month.

EWURA Director-General James A. Mwainyekule said the adjustments in prices of petroleum products in November 2023 are attributable to a 5.68 per cent fall in global oil prices.

He added that the changes are also a result of a decrease in premiums for the importation of petroleum products by an average of 13 per cent for PMS (gasoline) and 25 per cent for Automotive Gas Oil (AGO).

The President further said that through his bilateral engagements with foreign partners, he has been able to stabilize the economy.

“Things will be better next year since we have dealt with the tougher obstacles that we found. I am announcing to you that I have faith that from next year, all the development projects that had stalled will be revived because we have been able to manage our economy,” he added

Leaders who accompanied the President, including Majority Leader Kimani Ichungw’a, blamed the fuel prices hike on the former administration.

“Raila was the sole guarantor and underwriter of the deep state, state capture and corruption that made fuel prices rise and the shilling to deteriorate. The handshake government was doing business with the country’s fuel. He (Raila) is now irritated because the oil business he was brokering is no longer there,” claimed Ichungwa without giving evidence.

Raila has been opposed to the government-to-government deal on fuel alleging that the deal has been marred in secrecy and corruption. He has called for its cancellation.

“Five facts are undeniable; there was no G-to-G. Kenya did not sign any contract with Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Only the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum signed a deal with state-owned petroleum companies in the Middle East. Why Ruto chose to characterise the deal as a G-to-G is the first red flag that points to mischief in this deal,” Raila said recently.

He also raised concern on why land-locked countries that depend on Kenya for movement of their oil are abandoning the pipeline. “It is because it has become too expensive.”

For instance, Raila wondered, why Uganda had announced it would no longer purchase petroleum products from Kenya, claiming middlemen have inflated prices by up to 59 per cent, imposing too high a cost on consumers.