The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has asked the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) to revoke the newly announced fuel prices.
In a statement, ODM said that Kenyans are already overtaxed in hard economic times caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and an increase in fuel prices would exponentially increase the cost of living.
“EPRA has just announced a shocking increase in the price of fuel, so soon after the previous one, and just as the country is going into a third wave of the pandemic. Whereas, we understand the urgent need to raise some taxes to cover government operations also crippled by the pandemic, we can’t see the moral grounding on which to levy more taxes on a population itself on its knees from the same. In African culture, you do not milk a dead cow,” said ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna.
Read: More Pain At The Pump As Fuel Prices Increase By Over Ksh5 In March 2021 Review
On Sunday, EPRA announced an increase in fuel prices, with the price of one litre of super petrol going up by Ksh7.63 while that of diesel and kerosene has increased by Ksh5.75 and Ksh5.41 respectively.
This means that a litre of super petrol in Nairobi will retail at Ksh122.81 while diesel and kerosene will retail at Ksh107.66 and Ksh97.85 per litre respectively.
“Beyond even the individual citizens, our own manufacturing industry, the base on which we hope to build our recovery after the pandemic, will be hit hard by another increase in the cost of energy. This does not make sense on any front. Increasing the price of diesel just as the farming and planting season sets in is nothing but diabolic,” added Sifuna.
ODM now demands that the changes are revoked before midnight when they will take effect.
“EPRA has shown a lack of sensitivity to the aspirations of the common man, and a danger to the president’s Agenda 4 items. Silence on our part at this time will amount to complicity, and we therefore unequivocally state that we are opposed to this increase in the price of fuel. We demand that this decree is rescinded before it becomes effective,” concluded Sifuna.
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