William Ruto Reiterates His Govt Won't Use Subsidies To Cushion Kenyans From High Cost Of Fuel

• President William Ruto has maintained that his government will not re-introduce subsidies
• Ruto said subsidies were too expensive for the government, hence plunging the country into unexplained debt
• The head of state was speaking at the Devolution Conference in Uasin Gishu county

Eldoret - President William Ruto has clarified claims that the Kenya Kwanza government has reintroduced fuel subsidies.

Ruto said his government would not re-introduce subsidies because of their expensive nature, which has caused leakages in previous governments.

"We will not go back to subsidies of any nature that distort things and causes us a lot of unnecessary leakage," Ruto stated.

William Ruto: It is petroleum development levy

Speaking at the Devolution Conference in Uasin Gishu county, the head of state explained that his government was using the petroleum development levy provided in the law.

"We are making prudent and proper use of the petroleum development levy that is provided for in the law, it is meant to develop the petroleum industry, and it is meant to stabilise prices whenever we have unintended hikes," he said.

He asked the media to be accurate in their reports, ensuring they do not mislead readers and tarnish Kenyas good name.

August fuel review by EPRA

Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced new pump prices for the next month.

On Monday, August 14, the regulator announced that the prices for diesel, and kerosene and petrol remained unchanged effective Tuesday, August 15.

"Therefore, the maximum allowed petroleum pump prices for super petrol, diesel and kerosene will remain unchanged. Super Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene will retail at KSh 194.68, KSh 179.67 and KSh 169.48 effective midnight in Nairobi," said EPRA.

In the statement, EPRA retained fuel prices while re-introducing the subsidy component, which President William Ruto's administration had abandoned during the May review.

Subsidy component?

According to EPRA, introducing the subsidy component was meant to cushion Kenyans from the spike in fuel prices because of the increase in landing cost.

"In order to cushion consumers from the spike in pump prices as a consequence of the increased landed costs, the Government has opted to stabilise pump prices for the August-September 2023 pricing cycle," it stated.

In the new arrangement, the government will compensate the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for them to keep the prices of fuel low.

If subsidies were not applied, petrol, diesel and kerosene prices would have increased by KSh 7.33, KSh 3.59 and KSh 5.74 per litre, respectively.