Kenya: Price Controls & Funding for NOCK for Petrol Retail Expansion

In the Kenyan Parliament, Energy minister Mr Kiraitu Murungi said the Government planned to reintroduce fuel price controls in two weeks.

Photo: Daily Nation

According to Mr Murungi, oil dealers had turned “deaf ears” to repeated Government pleas asking them to reduce pump charges because the prices of crude oil on the world market had gone down. He joined MPs in accusing multinational oil dealers of fleecing consumers, even as the country faced hard economic times.

The Energy Act gives the minister the powers to check prices of oil products and ensure fair play in the market. That, he does through the Petroleum Regulatory Commission.  “The Petroleum Regulatory Commission will in the next two weeks issue a gazette notice fixing prices of oil products,” Mr Murungi said, as MPs responded with foot thumping.  He spoke of fixing prices to not more than 7 per cent of the landed costs (total expenditure, including import prices).

To ensure that local capacity is increased, the State-owned National Oil Corporation of Kenya will get more funding to enable it acquire at least 86 additional fuel stations, MPs heard.  Mr Murungi will soon be asking Parliament to enable his ministry draw additional money from the Treasury to finance that initiative.

MPs demanded to be told why multinational oil companies acted as “cartels” and refused to lower pump prices even when crude oil charges dropped, yet they were quick to raise charges whenever the world cost of a barrel rose.

PetrolWorld 301008  Daily Nation