Kenyan Government Probes Fuel Increases After Public Outcry

The Kenyan government has begun a public enquiry into rampant hikes in fuel prices which are causing public uproar against the government.

The government has constituted a parliamentary committee of inquiry to receive petitions and complaints from the general public to ascertain the causes of increases in petroleum products and address the issues.

The committee began its work on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.

The committee’s terms of reference, among other things, are to establish the cause of the drastic increase in the price of petroleum and petroleum products and ascertain whether there are other causes of price increase apart from taxes and levies; to inquire into the amount of revenue raised from each of the taxes and levies paid on petroleum and petroleum products per month; to seek alternative ways of raising revenue instead of the imposition of taxes on petroleum products and to propose legislation to address the concerns by the petitioners.

Kenyans are paying Sh134.72 ($1.225) for a litre of petrol and Sh115.60 ($1.051) for a litre of diesel while kerosene is now sold at Sh110.82 ($1.008) per litre.

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This followed an announcement by the country’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority on Tuesday, September 14, 2021.

The Authority said that prices are inclusive of the eight per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) in line with the provisions of the Finance Act 2018, the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act 2020, and the revised rates for excise duty adjusted for inflation as per Legal Notice No. 194 of 2020.