Another Fuel Shortage Looms As Kenyans Prepare For A 5-Day Holiday

As Kenyans head into a five-day holiday, it’s not business usual. The country might be looking at another fuel shortage crisis due to continuous disagreements on the import costs between the oil marketers and the retailers.

Several parts of the country, including Eldoret, Busia, and some parts of Nairobi, are already affected.

Verified reports indicate that the Oil Marketing Companies are only supplying fuel stations that they own on the premises that they will incur losses should they sell to other retailers.

This has created an artificial commodity shortage, pushing the motorists and Boda Boda operators into long queues at various petrol stations in these regions, and hence long traffic jams along the major roads and highways.

This comes only a few weeks after the petroleum ministry publicly reproved the oil marketers for hoarding fuel to create an artificial shortage in anticipation of a price increase.

An issue that saw the deportation of Rubis CEO Jean-Christian Bergeron was since solved after the government disbursed the due subsidy amount to the oil marketing companies.

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But as it is now, even the non-franchised dealers in the country are claiming that the regulator does not protect them from the oil marketing companies, who are now charging extra on import costs.

It might be difficult for those planning to get to the different destinations for the upcoming holiday if the fuel issue persists. Worst still, the likelihood of price shoot might lead to a hike in public transport costs, thus affecting the ordinary person.

Kenyans are currently paying 144.62 shillings for a liter of Super petrol, while diesel and kerosene are 125.50 and 113.44 shillings per liter, respectively, in Nairobi.

The prices result from an overall 9.90 shillings increase, and the increased landed costs of petrol, diesel, and kerosene by 20.5 percent, 24.7 percent, and 11.8 percent, respectively.