Kenyans rejected Davis Chirchir, the cabinet secretary for energy, on Monday, dismissing his reasoning that the Israel-Palestine conflict would cause fuel prices to rise to Ksh300 per litre.
Chirchir stated that Kenyans will probably experience hardship at the pump as a result of the geopolitical incident during his appearance before the National Dialogue Committee.
But the Tanzanian counterpart of EPRA, the Energy and Water Utilities Authority (EWURA), had already said that it would be slashing fuel rates for November to worldwide market trends.
In a declaration released on October 31 that included fuel costs for November, EWURA ascribed the decline to an average 5.86% drop in oil prices worldwide.
“OPEC+’s reduction in petroleum product production and economic sanctions against Russia are the main causes of changes in petroleum product prices in November 2023,” according to a statement from EWURA.
“Changes in the world oil price by an average of 5.68% are also contributing factors.” Premiums for the importation of petroleum products have decreased by an average of 13% for PMS and 25% for AGO.
The EWURA-announced pricing apply to several Appliesanian areas, including Dar es Salaam, Tanga, and Mtwara, and took effect on November 1.
Regarding the price decreases, EWURA declared that the Dar es Salaam region will now pay Tsh 3274 (Ksh 197.62) per litre for gasoline instead of Tsh 3281 (Ksh 198.04).
Additionally, the organization declared that the cost of fuel in the Dar es Salaam region would now only be Tsh 3374 (Ksh 203.65) per litre instead of Tsh 3448 (Ksh 208.12).
EWURA declared that the cost of gasoline per litre in the Tanga region will increase to Tsh 3320 (Ksh 200.39) in November from Tsh 3327 (Ksh 200.82).
Additionally, EWURA reported a drop in the price of gasoline in Mtwara, where it was formerly Tsh 3353 (Ksh 202.38) but is now Tsh 3347 9 (Ksh 202.02).
According to EWURA, the price reductions can also be attributable to the average 13% reduction in duties for petroleum imports and the 25% reduction for automated gas oil (AGO) charges.
Tanzania’s move to lower fuel costs may be the reason Kenyans residing close to the border have mostly chosen to purchase petrol in the neighbouring East African nation.
As a result of EPRA’s October 14 gasoline price announcement, fuel costs in Kenya have reached all-time highs.