Ruto opts for electric cars to escape high fuel prices

President William Ruto alights from an electric car, at KICC. [PCS]

 The government is racing to finalise a major multibillion-shilling tender to lease hundreds of luxury electric vehicles for its top officials.The strategic pivot is aimed at escaping soaring fuel costs that its own policies have helped to drive higher for millions of ordinary motorists.

 The National Treasury is seeking to lease 600 electric vehicles and install 70 DC fast chargers across the country under a programme that will see most government fleets shift away from petrol and diesel.

 The top-of-the-range vehicles are intended for senior managers in the National Government Administrative Services, the National Police Service, the Kenya Prisons Service, and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

 The move comes just days after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) raised pump prices sharply by up to 24 per cent, citing the rising cost of imported crude amid the ongoing Middle East conflict.

 “The Government of Kenya, through the National Treasury, seeks to roll out the use of electric vehicles across Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Counties (MDACs),” reads tender No TNT/SPP/ONT/016/2025‑2026. 

“For this reason, the rollout of Electric Vehicles (EVs) starts with the security sector agencies.”

 The tender, which closed on 21st April, seeks top-of-the-range and premium 90 medium‑duty 4x2 EVs, 125 medium‑duty 4x4 EVs, 335 double‑cab 4x4 pick‑ups, 10 hybrid utility vehicles, and 40 off‑road hybrids.

 A separate tender (No. TNT/SPP/ONT/017/2025‑2026) invites bids to lease 70 DC fast chargers for the same programme.

 Bidders must provide a bid security of Sh5 million for the vehicles and Sh1 million for the chargers from a bank regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya.

 The Treasury tender documents show the government is seeking a four‑year full‑maintenance operating lease, with payments quarterly in arrears.

 The lessor must provide comprehensive insurance, all servicing, and a replacement vehicle within 48 hours if a unit is being repaired. “Prices quoted shall be subject to negotiations with the tenderer with the lowest evaluated bidder and shall be fixed during the contract period,” the tender data sheet states.

 The lease includes a mandatory 40 per cent local content plan and a requirement to reserve 75 per cent of employment opportunities for Kenyan citizens, with not less than 20 per cent reserved for Kenyan professionals at the management level.

 “The tenderers are required to liaise with the relevant institutions, such as the Kenya Power and Lighting Company, in the installation of the three-phase, five-wire infrastructure in all the regions where the infrastructure is not available,” the charging station document says.

 Successful bidders must also furnish a performance security of 10 per cent of the total contract price.

 As the Treasury moves to insulate government officials from rising fuel prices through this expensive leasing programme, ordinary Kenyans are left to absorb the full weight of the country’s fuel policy and higher field prices, critics said.

 The shift to electric power to rein in the government wage bill from higher fuel costs comes as ordinary Kenyans struggle with the highest fuel prices in year