Prepare for tough times – CS rules out fuel price drop after Raila, Matiang’i promise
Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes has asked Kenyans to prepare for tough times head, ruling out any possibility of fuel price deduction.
Appearing before the Parliamentary committee on energy, Munyes argued that fuel prices are determined by external factors beyond his ministry’s control.
Munyes also blamed Treasury for failing to release Ksh24 billion meant for the price stabilization.
“I do not want to respond to comments from my colleagues if they said prices are coming down or not. What I say is that we wait for October 10 so that we know what the market determinants will say,” Munyes told MPs on Monday, October 4.
The announcement by the CS comes after ODM leader Raila Odinga and Interior CS Fred Matiang’i reportedly said that fuel prices will drop.
Raila who was speaking at a in Bungoma town over the weekend, stated that the government was working on reducing fuel prices after a recent public outcry.
He did not however state how the government was set to achieve the goal.
"Fuel prices will drop by next week. Do you understand?" he said.
On his part, CS Matiang’i said the government will launch an aggressive programme to address challenges in the energy sector that have led to the high cost of fuel and rising electricity bills.
“With these planned changes, we are certain that prices of fuel will not only come down but even bills and cost of electricity that we’re paying will also come down,” Matiang’i said at a funds drive in Isinya Kajiado county.
The statement by Raila and Matiangi’ comes before the October 14 review on fuel prices by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
The regulatory body received nationwide criticism last month after it announced a rise in fuel prices. The body announced an increase in prices of petrol, diesel and kerosene by Ksh7.58, Ksh7.94 and Ksh12.97 per litre respectively.
