Kenyans will remember that not too long ago, President Ruto dismissed the Uhuru Kenyatta administration’s explanation that global disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war had pushed up fuel prices.

📻 Breaking It Down

The national government’s response to the sharp rise in fuel prices has been farcical, provocative and deeply troubling — though perhaps not entirely unexpected from a regime increasingly viewed as predatory, tone-deaf and economically inept.

It is farcical because the President and his Cabinet Secretaries continue to lament publicly and portray themselves as helpless victims of global events, while conveniently ignoring their own role in crafting the flawed policies that have fuelled the current crisis.

It is provocative because state officials have repeatedly dismissed credible warnings and recommendations from independent economists and fiscal planners who foresaw the crisis and proposed measures that could either have prevented it or softened its impact. Instead of taking urgent and practical action to calm public anxiety, the Cabinet Secretaries in charge of Energy and the National Treasury have resorted to defensive rhetoric, hollow reassurances and Orwellian talking points aimed more at protecting the government’s image than solving the crisis.

📌 What You Need to Know

The government’s messaging has become increasingly contradictory. Senior officials continue to recycle the same flawed energy policy arguments championed by President William Ruto since taking office, culminating in controversial decisions such as the government’s divestiture from the Kenya Pipeline Company and the opaque government-to-government fuel import arrangement with Gulf states.

Kenyans will remember that not too long ago, President Ruto dismissed the Uhuru Kenyatta administration’s explanation that global disruptions caused by the Russia-Ukraine war had pushed up fuel prices. Then Deputy President Ruto questioned why Uganda, which imports fuel through the Port of Mombasa, was selling petroleum at lower prices despite the same global conditions.

Today, however, the same administration insists that the conflict in the Middle East and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz are solely to blame for rising fuel prices in Kenya.

The obvious question is the same one Ruto himself posed in 2022: if global conflict is the only cause, why is fuel still cheaper in Uganda, Ethiopia and several of Kenya’s neighbours? Why has Kenya failed to diversify its sources of petroleum imports? Why does a country that prides itself as a regional economic hub appear more vulnerable than its neighbours?

The truth is that the current fuel crisis is not simply the result of global instability. It is also the product of poor policy choices, conflicting interests and a government unwilling to confront entrenched profiteering networks within the energy sector.

Several interventions that could stabilise fuel prices or cushion consumers have either been ignored or deliberately avoided. The Kenya Kwanza administration appears more interested in protecting politically connected beneficiaries of the current fuel import regime than implementing reforms that would benefit ordinary citizens.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya