Review Kenya's fuel pricing plan to ease suffering

Rubis Petrol Station along Koinange Street in Nairobi on September 15, 2023. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

Fuel prices hit a record high this week sending shockwaves through an already fragile economy and a populace reeling under an extremely high cost of living.

It did not help matters that President William Ruto is marking one year in office and focus was already on how he has steered the ship of State with many critics passing the verdict he has fallen short on many of his campaign promises, top among them reining in the high cost of living.

While on the campaign trail, he promised to address the high prices of food and fuel as well as over-taxation. But Kenyans have witnessed removal of subsidies and introduction of myriad taxes that have thinned the payslips of employed Kenyans.

The latest increase in the cost of fuel, including diesel and kerosene, which power industrial and agricultural production and domestic homes respectively, are the last blow that broke the camel’s back.

The fury that has greeted the move to hike the price of super petrol by Sh16.96 to Sh211.64, diesel by Sh21.32 to Sh201 and kerosene by Sh33.13 to Sh202.13 in Nairobi appears abnormal even as the government insists it is the result of global factors beyond its control. While the latest reason given is the reduced production by OPEC countries, Kenyans have reason to question why previous interventions such as the government-to-government deal that was to see Kenya get cheap, shilling-dominated oil imports from Saudi Arabia are not cushioning Kenyans.

Last month, the government also used the Stabilisation Fund to ensure the prices do not breach the Sh200 mark but now Kenyans are being told that the kitty could not be used because the money was exhausted in paying debts owed to oil importers and that they will have to wait for at least another three months for prices to be stabilised.

It did not help matters that the country’s top leadership was conveniently on overseas trips, providing room for hawkish State officials to make insensitive statements that only added to the agony among citizens.

Given the public anger over recent State actions, it does not bode well for political stability. The Ministry of Energy and the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority must move with speed and find a solution to this crisis, which threatens to raise inflation to unsustainable levels, retard agricultural and industrial production and lead to job losses.

The government must come up with a better fuel pricing plan to support consumers and the economy.

As things stand, the government appears to have ignored the dire economic struggles of ordinary Kenyans, including the hustlers who form the bulk of its support base. It is also violating the constitutional rights and freedoms of Kenyans such as freedom of movement, right to access adequate quality food and right to health.