The government has backtracked on its decision to remove fuel subsidies in order to cushion Kenyans from the high cost of living.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) last night announced that the prices of fuel will remain unchanged despite a surge in the cost of crude in the international market.
In a statement on Monday evening, Daniel Kiptoo, the Director General of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, declared that “In the review period, there is no change in the maximum allowable pump prices for super, diesel, and kerosene.”
He noted that this is despite the fact that the average cost of imported fuel increased in July by 64% for super petrol, 4.29% for diesel, and 7.41% for kerosene.
Kiptoo stated, “To mitigate the impact of rising pump prices due to higher import costs, the government has chosen to stabilize pump prices for the August-September 2023 period.”
In Nairobi, the price for a liter of super petrol will remain at Sh194.68, diesel at Sh179.67, and kerosene at Sh169.48. In Mombasa, motorists will continue paying Sh191.62 for super petrol, Sh176.63 for diesel, and Sh166.43 for kerosene.
These unaltered prices will be effective until September 14, 2023.
Kiptoo explained that oil marketers will be reimbursed for the difference from the Petroleum Development Fund (PDF) at rates of Sh7.33 per liter for super petrol, Sh3.59 per liter for diesel, and Sh5.74 per liter for kerosene.
This indicates that the actual cost of fuel in Nairobi is Sh202.01 per liter of super petrol, Sh183.26 per liter of diesel, and Sh175.22 per liter of kerosene.
The last instance of the government subsidizing all three fuel types was exactly one year ago during the August-September 2022 fuel evaluation.
President William Ruto eliminated these subsidies shortly after taking office on September 13 of the same year, and he has now ruled out their reintroduction, deeming them counterproductive.
“I want to assure all our citizens that we will not go back to reckless borrowing and subsidies that benefit brokers, cartels and people who are politically correct. We will not go back there,” said Ruto last year.
While justifying the introduction of subsidies on fertilizer, Ruto highlighted that the government aims to implement policies that are less prone to abuse, corruption, or diversion. He emphasized that the government sees agriculture as an area where subsidies would yield higher returns compared to fuel.
The fuel subsidy, initially introduced by former President Uhuru Kenyatta to alleviate the impact of high living costs, has undergone changes over time.
