Fuel prices will go up again, Munyes tells Kenyans not to expect help from his ministry

By , K24 Digital
On Wed, 31 Mar, 2021 16:45 | < 1 min read
The price of fuel has gone down in new reviews announced Thursday by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA). [PHOTO | FILE]
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Kenyans are expected to dig deeper into their pockets to pay for fuel, Mining and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary (CS) John Munyes has said.

Appearing in the Senate Energy Committee on Wednesday, March 31, CS Munyes said that motorists should not expect any relief from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Body (EPRA) when it will be reviewing prices because of the higher taxes and levies.

“Kenya charges the highest taxes on fuel regionally. Taxes and levies are the biggest contributors to the prices. As global oil prices escalate, we expect the prices in the country as well to go up,” the CS said.

Munyes said that he was helpless and there is nothing his ministry can do about the increasing prices of fuel in the country.

His statement irked Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina who told off the CS and vowed to follow up on the issue.

Further, Munyes said that EPRA was developing a regulation mechanism in which the Petroleum Consolidated Fund would be operationalized to stabilise fuel prices.

Currently, the fuel prices in Nairobi are as follows; Super petrol Sh122.81, Diesel at Sh107.66 and Kerosene at Sh97.85.

The prices are the highest ever in the last one decade and EPRA said that they were inclusive of the 8 percent Valued Added Tax (VAT) which is in line with provisions of the Finance Act 2018 and the revised rates for excise duty.