Increase in fuel price to hit Kenyans hard

NAIROBI - The pain at the pump will only get sharper for motorists following yet another major hike in prices of petroleum products for the second month in a row that is likely to push the cost of living.

A litre of super petrol will retail at Sh122.81 in Nairobi in the next 30 days - an increase of Sh7.61, the latest wholesale and retail prices of petroleum products by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) shows.

Meanwhile, the opposition party, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM),  opposed the latest price increase saying the hike in fuel prices was shocking and could drive a revolution against ernment and its policies.

It now wants the government to rescind its decision, adding that heaping more taxes would only hurt the economy.

This means in two months, the goveconomic a litre of super petrol has risen by Sh15.80 in what is likely to hit hard majority of motorists on the road whose cars run the fuel.

A litre of diesel, which went up by Sh5.75, will be retailing at Sh107.66 between March 15 and April 14 in the country’s capital city. Last month, a unit of diesel went up by Sh5.51. Kerosene, which is popular among the poor households for lighting and cooking, will retail at Sh97.85 per litre, its price having been increased by Sh5.41.

A litre of Kerosene has now increased by Sh11.13, a tall order for the majority of poor families that rely on paraffin to light their homes and cook their food.

Epra  attributed the jump in pump prices to the rally in the global costs of oil with the Murban crude oil docking at the port of Mombasa at $61.61 (Sh6,715) per barrel in February 2021 up from $55.27 (Sh6,024) in January.

– THE STANDRD, Kenya.