Fuel Tycoons Unveil How Ruto Missed Out on Billions to Samia Suluhu
On Saturday, June 17, the Petroleum Outlets Association of Kenya (POAK) described how President William Ruto’s decision to adopt a government-to-government fuel importation deal cost Kenya a multimillion-dollar venture.
After the government began importing fuel from Saudi Arabia, other East African nations began importing fuel via a port in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
They argued that the decision enabled President Samia Suluhu Hassan to position Tanzania as an export hub, thereby gaining the trust of fuel dealers in other East African nations that imported their fuel exclusively through the Port of Mombasa.
According to data from the taxman, Kenya earned close to Ksh400 billion in 2021 from the transit of fuel to other East African nations including Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan.
“We have lost the transit market to Dar el Salaam,” the Petroleum Outlets Association of Kenya stated.
To prevent losses, Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir announced plans to construct additional vessels to facilitate oil exports to Uganda via Lake Victoria.
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Chirchir noted in the new plan that fuel shipped to Uganda will be loaded onto trucks bound for Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“We have begun construction on three additional ships so that the jetty can handle daily shipments,” Chirchir said.
In addition to losing a multibillion-dollar contract to Tanzania, the dealers were concerned that Ruto’s deal to acquire fuel from Saudi Arabia had failed to resolve the dollar crisis.
According to the Central Bank’s weekly bulletin published on Friday, June 16th. The Kenyan Shilling remained relatively stable in comparison to other major international and regional currencies. On Thursday, June 15, the exchange rate was Ksh139.71 per US dollar. Compared to Ksh139.11 per US dollar on Thursday, June 8.
Ruto stated that the agreement will reduce the dollar exchange rate to Ksh120.
In addition, the fuel vendors reported that fuel prices in Kenya were higher than in other East African nations.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced on June 14. That the price of a liter of super petrol has decreased by Ksh0.66 and will now cost Ksh180.4.
Diesel prices decreased by Ksh1.12 to Ksh167.28 per liter, while kerosene prices increased by Ksh0.35 to Ksh161.48 per liter.
Fuel Tycoons Unveil How Ruto Missed Out on Billions to Samia Suluhu
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