By WMW
Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro has proposed a raft of legislative measures aimed at reducing fuel prices, warning that the current pump prices will trigger severe inflationary pressure and long-term economic pain.
Speaking at his office at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on Friday, the MP termed the latest fuel prices announced by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority “unacceptable”.
The current EPRA prices place super petrol at KSh214.25 per litre and diesel at KSh242.92 per litre.
Nyoro said he had formally written to Parliament seeking amendments to the VAT Act and the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) regulations to cushion consumers from rising costs.
Under his proposals, the MP wants importers’ and distributors’ margins reduced by KSh4 per litre, an additional KSh5 billion diesel subsidy provided through the Fuel Stabilization Fund, and the KSh7 fuel levy introduced in 2024 scrapped.
He also proposed making petroleum products VAT exempt by deleting Section 5(2A) of the VAT Act, effectively reducing VAT on fuel from eight per cent to zero.
According to Nyoro, the combined measures would lower the retail price of super petrol to KSh187.38 per litre and diesel to KSh189.16.
“The drastic rise in fuel prices will grossly hurt the economy now, in the medium and long term,” Nyoro said, adding that inflation was likely to rise sharply if no intervention is made.
He criticised the government for what he termed “playing with fuel prices for political gains” through post-announcement adjustments that fail to significantly reduce the burden on consumers.
Nyoro argued that once transport and commodity prices rise, they tend to remain high even when fuel prices decline.
“When fares go up, they become sticky, and therefore Kenyans are left paying high prices,” he said.
In a letter addressed to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Samuel Njoroge, the MP said the proposed amendments were necessary to mitigate inflationary and “sticky economic effects” caused by high fuel prices.
The proposed changes include revoking part of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (Imposition of Levy) Order, 2024, to reduce the levy from KSh25 to KSh18 per litre.
Nyoro maintained that the interventions were short-term measures meant to stabilise the economy while broader long-term solutions are explored.
“There has to be a trade-off between losing some revenue in the short term and inflicting long-run downward and sticky effects on the economy in general,” he said.
The MP’s proposals now await consideration in Parliament amid growing public concern over the rising cost of living.
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