Fuel price hike will spike cost of living
The pump price hike of diesel and petrol as announced by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) last Friday will catalyse a spike in the cost of common goods in an economy grappling with high inflation.
In Nairobi, the heartbeat of the country’s economy, the cost per litre of diesel is Sh104.45 while petrol is now Sh112.87 per litre after an additional Sh2.67 on last month’s pump price.
This adjustment has already been effected by retailers keen to cash in on it with their old stock to increase profit margins.
The hardest hit will be commuters and private motorists, who will be forced to dig deeper into their pockets.
It will also hit the public transport sector operators and manufacturers who directly deal in or depend on petroleum products. But luckily for them, they will pass the burden to hapless consumers.
The situation will further compound the inflation visited on Kenyans by the erratic climatic conditions that keep oscillating between extreme drought and severe deluges.
And as if that is not enough trouble, farmers who have to contend with bad harvests now have to deal with invasion of desert locusts. Real tough times for the farmer!
But the most disheartening aspect on the plight of the farmer and ordinary citizen is the government response to mitigate effects of some adversities—both man made and natural.
For instance, the government’s monitoring and response to the locust invasion has been wanting.
Why has it been difficult to declare the locust invasion a national disaster, for instance, to enable the government marshall resources at its disposal to fight the destructive insects that threaten the country’s livelihood?
While the country is, no doubt, staring at a serious food security crisis, it is business as usual for those in authority.
It is a damning indictment that at a time as this, we are preoccupied with politics.
What and where are our priorities? Is it in the frequent roll-out of lofty but sterile policies, especially in the agriculture, a sector that is the backbone of our economy?
There has to be a reboot in the thinking to ensure implementation of policy. And the ongoing discourse on the rebirth of Kenya through the Building Bridges Initiative provides a perfect opportunity. Let’s seize it now, before it’s too late to cure our self-destruct peculiarities.
