Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga now says Kenya’s government-to-government oil deal with gulf countries is the cause of the high fuel prices the country is witnessing.
Addressing the media on Friday, September 15 at the SKM Command Centre in Karen, Raila wondered where the Arab countries will take Kenyan shillings which are used to pay for the imported oil in the scheme.
“That is really the cause of the problem we are having when they interfered with OTS. I am talking to you as somebody who has been a minister for energy in my other earlier interactions.
"They said they are going to do a g-to-g and that they are going to pay in Kenyan shillings and you ask yourself what are the Arabs in the Middle East going to do with Kenyan shillings? The chickens are coming back home to roast,” said Raila.
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Kenya in April started the government-backed fuel import credit scheme with gulf countries, which allows Kenya to import fuel on a 180-day credit period in a bid to ease the monthly demand for dollars and prop up the shilling against foreign currencies.
However, fuel prices have been on the rise, with the latest review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority hitting a record high.
The price of petrol has now risen by over Sh16, while diesel has risen by Sh21.32 and kerosene by Sh33.13.
"The maximum allowed petroleum pump prices in Nairobi are as follows: Super Petrol increases by Sh16.96, Diesel increases by Sh21.32 per litre and Kerosene increases by Sh33.13 per litre," Epra announced on Thursday.