”Review the tax regime on fuel” Mudavadi urges the government even as ODM condemns the increase in fuel prices.
Amani National Congress leader Hon Musalia Mudavadi has called on the government through the ministry of energy not to overburden the already burdened mwananchi with high fuel prices.
Motorists will pay more for Petrol and Diesel beginning midnight following adjustment by Sh7.63 and Sh5.75 per litre respectively.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) did not also spare households relying on Kerosene as a source of power after adjusting upwards the price of Kerosene by Sh5.41 per litre.
In Nairobi, motorists will pay Sh122.81 for Super Petrol, Sh107.66 for diesel and Sh97.85 for households who depend on Kerosene while in Mombasa price for petrol diesel and kerosene has been adjusted to Sh120.41, Sh105.27 and Sh95.46 respectively.
Kisumu motorists will pay Sh123.36, Sh108.46 and Sh98.68 for Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene respectively.
In a press statement two days ago, the regulator said the March-April changes are a consequence of the average landed cost of imported Super Petrol increasing by 14.97 per cent from US dollar 391.24 in January 2021 to US dollar 449.82 per cubic metre in February 2021.
Kenyans in our villages and towns are in great distress. Many families do not know where the next meal will come from and even when they get a meal, it is not enough to satisfy the household needs. Clearly with increased prices of paraffin and fuel, the situation is likely to get worse as prices of food soar.
lamented Mudavadi.
What the Ministry of Energy has always done is to pass the increased costs to the mwananchi and business community, to their detriment, while guaranteeing higher profit margins for oil marketers. Changes in the computation of the applicable taxation regime have resulted in higher pump prices. In fact, taxes now comprise roughly 60% of the pump price for petrol, diesel and kerosene. It is totally, unacceptable for petrol to retail at 122.81 in Nairobi when the landing cost is 49.84!
The ANC leader proposes a raft of measures that the government should do instead of passing the burden to the ordinary mwananchi.
The Ministry, as a matter of urgency, must do the following:
1. Revise the formula used in pricing fuel.
2. Review the tax regime on fuel products. A tax equivalent to 100% of pump price is unsustainable, punitive and inflationary to the people of Kenya! The tax regime should also provide incentives for investments in clean and renewable energy.
3. Reform the electricity cost structure to include more transparency in the determination of costs/pricing and improve overall efficiency. On an encouraging note, the government should accelerate the review of the Power Purchase Agreements that have been heavily skewed against Kenyans.
4. Review and reform our energy policy in consultation with stakeholders across the board so the nation can leverage their creativity and innovation.
The above recommendations would enable our country to remove price distortions in the economy, enhance our competitiveness and foster an increase in investments in the energy sector and the economy as a whole. The Ministry should treat this matter with the urgency it deserves
concluded Mudavadi.
The Orange democratic party through its sg Edwin Sifuna too have issued a statement on the fuel increase.
Below find the statment from Odm.
The ODM Party
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STATEMENT ON PROPOSED FUEL PRICE INCREASE BY EPRA.
It is exactly one year since the Covid pandemic arrived in our country. It has been a year of lost jobs, collapsed industries and wound up SMEs. In simple terms, the pandemic has been a tragedy for the already heavily-taxed population.
Central to this tragedy has been the cost of energy, which has an impact on every facet of our lives. Across the globe, most governments have responded by offering stimulus packages and rescue plans for individuals and businesses, as a way of cushioning their populations from the ravages of this pandemic and as a way to maintain stability on all fronts. History is replete with evidence that restive populations burdened by skewed economic policies are easily amenable to revolutions.
EPRA has just announced a shocking increase in the price of fuel, so soon after the previous one, and just as the country is going into a third wave of the pandemic. Whereas, we understand the urgent need to raise some taxes to cover government operations also crippled by the pandemic, we can’t see the moral grounding on which to levy more taxes on a population itself on its knees from the same. In African culture, you do not milk a dead cow!
We are a party founded on the tenets of social democracy, and our rallying call has always been that capitalism must hold a human face, where the welfare of the citizens are balanced by the need for tax revenues for government to run. It is at such times when that human face needs to shine even brighter. Beyond even the individual citizens, our own manufacturing industry, the base on which we hope to build our recovery after the pandemic, will be hit hard by another increase in the cost of energy. This does not make sense on any front. Increasing the price of diesel just as the farming and planting season sets in is nothing but diabolic.
EPRA has shown a lack of sensitivity to the aspirations of the common man, and a danger to the president’s Agenda 4 items. Silence on our part at this time will amount to complicity, and we therefore unequivocally state that we are opposed to this increase in the price of fuel. We demand that this decree is rescinded before it becomes effective.
We stand with Kenyans in this difficult time and hope that sense will prevail.
Edwin Sifuna
Secretary General
Orange Democratic Movement
