Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has put forward a set of measures he says could bring down the price of petrol and diesel by about Sh29 a litre, pulling pump prices back below the Sh200 mark just days after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced fresh increases.

The proposals, contained in a statement from Nyoro's People's Party of Kenya (PPK) dated October 15 and released on Saturday, October 17, describe the latest hikes as "insensitive" at a time when households are already grappling with a high cost of living, The Star and Capital FM reported.

What EPRA changed

In its review for the October 15 to November 14 cycle, EPRA raised the maximum price of super petrol in Nairobi by Sh12.93 to Sh226.96 a litre and diesel by Sh9.90 to Sh227.76. Kerosene recorded the steepest jump, rising Sh28.49 to Sh219.87 a litre, according to Capital FM.

The three-part formula

At the centre of the PPK plan are three measures. First, the party wants the margins allowed to oil importers and distributors cut by Sh10 a litre, arguing they should be reviewed. Second, it proposes a Sh5.5 billion subsidy for petrol and diesel, which it estimates would lower prices by roughly Sh12 a litre based on monthly consumption of about 450 million litres. Third, it wants the Sh7 fuel levy introduced in 2024 removed.

Taken together, the party says the measures would bring super petrol down to Sh197.96 a litre and diesel to Sh198.77, cuts of about Sh29 on each product. Capital FM noted that the figures do not factor in any further reduction in value added tax.

"It is insensitive for the government to have announced such hikes in fuel prices," the statement said, as quoted by The Star, adding: "We are already at an inflation rate of 6.8%."

G-to-G deal and Dangote refinery

Beyond the price formula, the party called for the government-to-government (G-to-G) fuel import arrangement to be wound up. "G-to-G must be terminated and make way for competitive market prices," the statement read, according to The Star. The government has previously defended the deal, saying it has shielded the country from the worst of global supply shocks.

PPK also questioned an importer margin of Sh6.77 a litre, which it said had risen by Sh2.16, and claimed that the landing cost of diesel had fallen from Sh167 a litre in May to Sh138.21 in the current cycle. It further demanded that the investment agreement and shareholding structure of the Dangote East African Petroleum Refinery be made public, and urged that money in the Petroleum Development Levy Fund, which has a Sh21.5 billion subsidy allocation this year, be used to cushion consumers.

Government's VAT move

The proposals come as the government extends relief on the tax side. Capital FM reported that President William Ruto on October 16 signed into law a 90-day extension of the reduced 8 per cent VAT rate on petroleum products, a rate EPRA had already applied in its latest review.

Motorists have also pushed back. The Motorists Association of Kenya has questioned why kerosene, which recorded the smallest rise in landed cost, saw the largest pump increase, and is demanding an independent audit of EPRA's computations and the release of the full pricing worksheets.

Neither the party's figures nor the motorists' questions have yet been tested against EPRA's own data, and the regulator's October schedule remains in force until November 14. Nyoro, who has repeatedly pressed the government on fuel taxes, made a similar case in April when he proposed cuts of about Sh27 a litre following that month's price review.

Photos: Ndindi Nyoro, Capital FM; fuel station, Cikumaria via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).