Anxiety in the fuel industry amid Ruto’s plan to end subsidy
2 min readRuto’s plan to end fuel subsidy has brought anxiety in the country ahead of the price announcement by EPRA on Wednesday
The country was surprised when President William Ruto revealed plans to cancel the fuel subsidy program on the grounds that it was unsustainable.
He mentioned that taxpayers had spent Ksh144 billion on the subsidy program in his inaugural speech on Tuesday, September 13.
He added that it had increased the National Treasury’s burden and caused an artificial shortage of the product.
“If the subsidy continues to the end of the financial year, it will cost taxpayers Ksh280 billion, equivalent to the entire national government development budget,” he stated.
However, Ruto did not reveal an intervention plan to cushion Kenyans from the high fuel cost.
The move raised anxiety among consumers of the product ahead of the price announcement by Energy Petroleum and Regulatory Authority (EPRA) on Wednesday, September 14.
After he made his declaration, some fuel stations began to ration the product, and there were shortages at other ones.
In several areas of the country, there were long lines, which led to panic buying before the review.
The unease is also a result of a statement by Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC) warning of a potential price increase as a result of the exchequer’s refusal to transfer money owed to oil marketers.
The projected price increase, according to KPC, is also the result of marketers going slow on picking the product at the Kipevu Oil Storage Facility and other storage facilities, which led to a shortage.
Besides that, EPRA had announced plans to review the KPC storage and pipeline tariffs, a move that would have a ripple effect on fuel prices.
With the factors at play, most Kenyans are anxious to know how Ruto will cushion them from the high fuel after withdrawing the fuel subsidy program.
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