>>BY BRAMWEL CHENG’WALI>>
Kenyans have been urged to be patient as the government continues to put in place measures to deal with the rising cost of petroleum products.
Speaking at a consultative forum between the Ministry of Energy and the National Assembly in Mombasa, Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir said the government is doing its best to lower the prices of petroleum products in the country.
Chirchir said the inflation of petroleum product prices was due to the depreciating value of the Kenyan shilling against the US dollar.
“As the ministry we are looking at the factors that contribute to the high cost of petroleum so that we can deal with further price escalation,” said Chirchir.
His statements were echoed by the Energy Committee chairperson Vincent Musau. He asked all the stakeholders in the energy sector to embark on an anti-dollar campaign in the local market.
“We can no longer continue to be the slaves of other people’s currency,” Musau said.
He questioned the tendency of using the dollar in the local markets, asking other leaders in Africa to join hands in efforts of having ‘an African currency’.
“Why would someone from Uganda or Tanzania buying an item in Kenya pay in dollars?” asked Museum.
The CS pinpointed actions taken by the government to bring down the cost of petroleum in the country, including direct importation of oil from the international market on credit and paying in Kenyan shillings.
“The oil marketers have now realized that the risk of paying is not as high as expected, this program has only run for two months but the impact can be felt,” highlighted Chirchir.
Further, the committee demanded that the state cooperates by submitting all its revenues from the exchequer and loans/grants to close the loopholes for corruption.
“We want all the state cooperates to submit all their financial revenues for effective oversight,” said Musau.
>>Additional reporting BY HARRISON KAZUNGU>>
