Kenya Kwanza demands accountability on fuel subsidy, blames crisis on 'monopolistic cartels' » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 4 — Deputy President William Ruto on Monday faulted the delayed disbursement of fuel subsidies to oil markers blaming a nationwide fuel crisis on ‘monopolistic cartels, economic saboteurs and incompetent public officials.’

Ruto said the crisis which become more pronounced over the weekend could have been averted had public officials charged with dispensing subsidies done so in a timely and efficient manner.

Ruto made the comments on Monday shortly after President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law five bills among them the supplementary bill that unlocked an additional Sh34.4 billion towards fuel stabilization.

He said it was unnecessary to wait until a crisis unfolds yet sufficient monies were available under the petroleum levy to support the subsidy program.

“This should have been addressed before we found ourselves into the crisis that we are already in and you actually don’t need a supplementary to address this problem because there was already money in the Petroleum development fund,” Ruto, who was flanked by allies in the Kenya Kwanza formation including ANC’s Musalia Mudavadi, stated.

DP Ruto further claimed that the petroleum levy fund was diverted to other uses, demanding public officials he accused of doing so to respond to audit queries.

“The Auditor General has raised queries on the diversion of that money into areas that were not meant for the fund. So why was the money diverted? Why was it diverted into state agencies? Why was it diverted into private entities?” the DP posed.

The Sh34.4 billion to be released to oil marketers as a subsidy is aimed at cushioning Kenyans from high cost of fuel prices occasioned by the worsening global energy crisis.

There were however reports that the government owned oil marketers refunds accumulated over a period of four months leading to the latest move to hoard the commodity.

The countrywide shortage of petrol continued to be felt on Monday despite the government cautioning players in the market against hoarding the commodity.

An immediate impact of the acute shortage of the all-important energy source was evident in the manner various petrol stations resorted to capping sales by restricting motorists to a maximum of Sh2,000 worth of fuel.