The People’s Party of Kenya proposes measures to bring petrol and diesel prices below Sh200 per litre.
The People’s Party of Kenya wants lower industry margins, a Sh5.5 billion subsidy and removal of a Sh7 levy to ease pump prices.
The Ndindi Nyoro-led People’s Party of Kenya has proposed fuel price cuts to bring petrol and diesel below Sh200 per litre. Its plan combines lower industry margins, a Sh5.5 billion subsidy and removal of a Sh7 fuel levy.
In a statement released on Saturday, the party estimated petrol would fall by Sh29 to Sh197.96 per litre. Diesel would also drop by Sh28.99 to Sh198.77 under its proposals.
The proposals follow the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s latest price increases for the October 15–November 14 cycle. Nairobi motorists now pay Sh226.96 for petrol and Sh227.76 for diesel, following increases of Sh12.93 and Sh9.90 respectively.
Meanwhile, kerosene rose by Sh28.49 to Sh219.87 per litre. The party criticised the increases, citing inflation of 6.8 per cent and pressure on households and businesses.
How the proposed fuel price cuts would work
The party wants the government to reduce importer and distributor margins by Sh10 per litre. It also proposes removing the Sh7 fuel levy introduced in 2024.
Alongside those changes, it estimates a Sh5.5 billion subsidy would lower petrol and diesel prices by about Sh12 per litre. That calculation assumes monthly consumption of approximately 450 million litres.
The party also cited a current-year subsidy allocation of Sh21.5 billion. It argued that the government should use the Petroleum Development Levy Fund to help lower pump prices.
However, the proposal does not rely on a further reduction in Value Added Tax. President William Ruto signed a further 90-day extension of the reduced 8 per cent petroleum VAT rate on October 16.
EPRA had already applied that rate in the latest pricing cycle. The party’s proposed reductions would therefore require additional measures beyond the existing tax relief.
Party challenges petroleum import arrangement
Beyond the immediate cuts, the party called for an end to the government-to-government petroleum import arrangement. It wants competitive market pricing instead.
The party questioned an importer’s margin of Sh6.77 per litre, alleging an increase of Sh2.16. It also challenged the diesel adjustment, claiming landing costs had fallen while pump prices rose.
Specifically, it cited a decline from Sh167 per litre in May to Sh138.21 in the current cycle. Those figures form part of the party’s claims about the pricing system.
In addition, the party sought publication of the investment agreement involving the Dangote East African Petroleum Refinery. It also wants disclosure of the refinery’s shareholding structure.
Motorists seek independent pricing audit
Separately, the Motorists Association of Kenya has demanded an independent audit of EPRA’s review and the petroleum import arrangement. It wants the regulator to publish its full pricing calculations.
The association cited landed-cost increases of 11.81 per cent for petrol, 11.32 per cent for diesel and 9.41 per cent for kerosene. However, corresponding pump-price increases were 6.04 per cent, 4.54 per cent and 14.89 per cent.
It therefore questioned why kerosene had the smallest percentage landed-cost increase but the largest increase at the pump. The association also rejected using higher kerosene prices to discourage adulteration, arguing that authorities should address the practice through enforcement.
MAK wants pricing worksheets covering benchmarks, exchange rates, freight, insurance, taxes, levies, margins and other adjustments. It also seeks greater transparency over the Petroleum Development Levy Fund and has warned of possible peaceful demonstrations.
However, neither the party’s proposals nor MAK’s questions establish that EPRA made calculation errors. Assessing those claims would require an independent audit and disclosure of the underlying pricing data.
