It’s possible that Kenyan President William Ruto misled the people of his country about the secret oil agreement he made with Saudi Arabia.
Officials from the Energy and Petroleum Regulation Authority (EPRA) failed to clarify how the government-to-government fuel contract that Ruto inked with Saudi Arabia would help the nation when they testified in front of the National Assembly Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy (PICCAE).
When pressed to elaborate on the advantages of the government’s choice to avoid the use of dollars in the process of acquiring oil, EPRA was at a loss for words.
In spite of the agreement that was reached in early April, prices have kept going up, notwithstanding the fact that David Pkosing, the member representing Pokot South on the committee, is serving as its chair.
“Why was the government-to-government (G-to-G) programme established in the first place?” The dollar is having an impact on our fuel prices, and EPRA is not providing an answer to Kenyans,” MP Pkosing raised the question.
He maintained that the agreement was made with the intention of protecting Kenyans and minimising the impact of swings in gasoline prices; nonetheless, the outcome was a rise in costs.
At the end of the meeting, the committee came to the conclusion that “representatives of EPRA presenting before the Committee acknowledged their failure to effectively respond to the questions raised concerning the issue in question.”
Notably, Ruto made the decision on his own to choose Amarco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Corporation Global Trading (ADNOC), and National Oil Company (NOC) as the companies that would provide Kenya with fuel.
Ruto has proclaimed that beginning in the month of April, all of the country’s fuel marketers will be allowed to use the shilling to purchase petroleum goods. “As a nation, we are able to purchase fuel with the use of our local currency,” Ruto said.