Parliament summons CSs over fuel subsidy removal

Parliament has summoned Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) for Petroleum and Energy over elimination of the fuel subsidy on Tuesday that saw pump prices hit historic highs from Tuesday midnight.

Senate Speaker Kenneth Lusaka directed Petroleum Secretary John Munyes and his Energy counterpart, Charles Keter to appear before the House next Tuesday.

The State removed the subsidies of Sh7.10 on petrol, Sh9.90 on diesel and Sh11.36 on kerosene that applied on the prices of fuel sold in the month to September 14.

Removal of the subsidy increased the price of petrol by Sh7.58 a litre in Nairobi to Sh134.72 while diesel jumped Sh7.94 to Sh115.6 a litre — the highest in Kenya’s history.

“I direct that the committee on Energy immediately issue summonses to the two Cabinet Secretaries and the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) to appear on Tuesday. All senators should be invited to sit at this chamber,” Mr Lusaka ruled.

Lawmakers want the CSs to explain why the State stopped subsidies, with the expensive fuel set to unleash pricing pressure across the economy and have ramifications on the cost of living measure.

The summonses followed request for a statement filed by Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei over Tuesday's increase of petroleum prices by Epra.

Kenya has since March offered consumers a subsidy, with those using petrol enjoying the benefit with the exemption of the May review.

This saw the regulator keep diesel and kerosene prices unchanged since April at Sh107.66 and Sh97.85 a litre respectively on fears an upward review could fuel public anger. Petrol had remained unchanged at Sh127.14 since June.

Kenya’s economy is diesel-driven and the expensive fuel is set to unleash pricing pressure across the economy as manufactures pass the increased costs to consumers.