We commend the move by the government to seek cheaper fuel to cushion Kenyans from the global energy crisis that has seen inflation hit historic levels across the world.
The deal that will see the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (Nock) bring in cheap fuel is timely and comes at a time most families are facing hardships amid the rising cost of living.
The State-owned Nock will from August start shipping fuel from Saudi Arabia at lower prices than the global rates in the latest push by the government to lower pump prices.
The high prices in the market have been prompted by the spike in the global cost of crude oil in the wake of supply disruptions due to the Russia-Ukraine war, bringing to the fore the absence of Nock in providing strategic stocks of fuel that are key to lowering prices locally.
The majority of businesses and households have found themselves in unfamiliar territories with fuel price surges eroding the post-Covid-19 pandemic gains.
The prices of basic commodities like maize flour, cooking oil and other food items have left low income has pushed low-income households mostly in urban slums and rural areas further to the edge.
Cheaper fuel will bring the much-needed relief as the government moves to roll back the subsidy programme which has kept prices low since last year.
But even as Kenyans wait for the cheap oil, a lot still needs to be done to cushion Kenyans from the global crisis. We believe that the State-owned firm does not have the capacity to bring in sufficient oil to meet local demand.
Also, we still maintain that the State has sufficient headroom to further bring down fuel prices even without the subsidy in place.
The government should cut some taxes that gobble Sh62 per litre at the pump.
Already the Kenya Revenue Authority is exceeding its target by a comfortable margin.
Kenyans could get some relief if State suspends some taxes to weather the crisis.
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Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
