Kenya: KIPEDA Highlights Pricing & Distribution Problems
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Monday, 05 January 2009 |
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The Kenya Independent Petroleum Dealers Association (Kipeda) said their
efforts to make the commodity available have been frustrated by
multinationals refusing to sell to them oil products.
"We source fuel directly from major oil companies depots. Since October
they have been refusing to sell the product to us," said Kipeda
Chairman Keith Ngaruchi. He added that despite a significant drop
in global fuel prices, major oil companies have fixed their wholesale
prices for independents higher than their own retail prices at their
petrol stations.
The allegations are another twist to the accusations and
counter-accusations as to who is responsible to the fuel shortage.
Though oil marketers have accused Kenya Pipeline Company of
inefficiency, the oil transporter has laid the blame on power outages
and marketers causing artificial shortage by failing to collect the
product.
But yesterday, the independent dealers, who own more than 50 per cent
of the petrol stations in Nairobi and other parts of the country
accused multinational oil dealers of conspiring to edge them out of
business through discrimination, denial of products and lover pricing
of the wholesale fuel.
They said the Government’s efforts to empower National Oil Corporation
to be a market stabiliser might not materialise as the Nairobi depot
built at a cost of Sh350 million and commissioned in 2002 to offer
independent dealers truck loading facilities has not lived up to the
task. "The state owned depot has been unable to offer adequate stocks
to our members," stated Ngaruchi.
PetrolWorld 020109
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