President Museveni breaks silence after cutting fuel imports from Kenya
3 min read
Museveni reveals Uganda has been getting a raw deal from fuel middlemen in Kenya forcing his country to cut imports
Museveni reveals Uganda has been getting a raw deal from fuel middlemen in Kenya forcing his country to cut imports.
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda announced on Sunday that his government has hired refinery and bulk suppliers to deliver fuel to the country, following reports that Uganda was trying to reduce its dependency on fuel imports from Kenya.
Museveni said in an extensive statement that talks with President William Ruto led to the resolution.
In his statement, Museveni seemed to revert to his earlier position of reducing imports from Kenya, pointing out that his nation has been treated unfairly by intermediaries who charge Uganda astronomical prices for petrol, diesel, and kerosene.
“Without my knowledge, our wonderful people were buying this huge quantity of petroleum products from middlemen in Kenya. A whole country buying from middlemen in Kenya or anywhere else? Amazing but true,” he expressed shock.
“Why not buy from the Refineries abroad and transport through Kenya and Tanzania, cutting out the cost created by middlemen? Those involved were not bothered by these issues.”
Museveni observed that middlemen sold a barrel of diesel at Ksh17,555 (USD118) even though suppliers sold the same at Ksh12,348 (USD83).
Also, middlemen valued a barrel of petrol at Ksh14,505 (USD97.5) and that of kerosene at Ksh16,960 (USD114), which was higher than refineries’ valuation of Ksh9,149 (petrol) and Ksh11,753 (USD79).
He further argued that the prices were at their lowest when the products arrived at the East African Ports.
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“We have now contracted bulk and Refinery suppliers able to give us the lower prices. I have discussed this with H.E Ruto, the President of Kenya and our delegation is now in Dar-es-Salaam, discussing with Her Excellency Samia Suluhu,” he explained.
Museveni further revealed that after his administration discovered the scheme, some industry stakeholders launched a social–media and mainstream media campaign against his new direction.
“Ruto is handling the Kenyan part. I salute his contribution. In a few years’ time, our Refinery will be up and running,” he added.
This comes after Ugandan Cabinet approved a bill to be tabled in the country’s National Assembly that would cut its reliance on Kenya for fuel imports.
In the proposed bill, the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) was to be mandated with sourcing and importing petroleum products for oil marketing companies (OMCs) in the country.
Among the top concerns for the move were the continually rising fuel prices in Kenya as well as the government-to-government deal Kenya entered with some firms in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
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