Ruto responds to Raila over alleged G-2-G oil scandal
President William Ruto has responded to allegations by Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga that the government-to-government (G-2G) deal between Kenya and Middle East countries was fraudulent.
Speaking on Friday, November 17, 2023, Ruto said that the government had no role in the importation of oil to the country, apart from underwriting.
"The purpose of government in that agreement is not so that we sell oil products. The only purpose of the government is to guarantee international oil companies that they can extend products to Kenya for six months and that after six months we are going to pay. we have kept our part of the bargain. We have made sure that they are paid their money by the oil marketing companies in Kenya," Ruto said.
"We gave them the guarantee that dollars will be available for them. We have made sure that that is the case. The rest is private business. The international oil companies sell fuel directly to oil marketers in Kenya. The government of Kenya is not a broker. The entire process is private sector-led between international oil companies and our oil marketing companies in Kenya. Our business as government is to underwrite."
This comes a day after Raila claimed that the Kenyan government did not sign government-to-government (G-to-G) contracts on oil supplies with Saudi Arabia and UAE.
In a statement on Wednesday, November 16, 2023, Raila said that instead, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum signed a deal with state-owned petroleum companies in the Middle East, which the government characterised as a G-to-G.
"The deal was a scam for which we now demand full disclosure and full accountability. It is corrupt and rotten to the core. It is state capture by Ruto and company and a conspiracy against the country. Ruto collapsing the country while feeding Kenyans on lullabies," Raila said.
Raila said that the deal did not achieve its promise to lower fuel prices in the country and stabilise the shilling against the dollar.
Ruto on depreciation of the shilling
On the depreciation of the shilling against the dollar, Ruto accused the previous regime of using Kenya's foreign reserves to sustain a strong shilling artificially.
"I am not going to do what was done in the last two years, to use our foreign currency, close to USD2 billion to keep an artificial rate of the Kenya shilling. It has cost us an arm and a leg. We will make sure that this is a liberal economy. We are not going to strengthen our shilling artificially," he added.
