Fuel crisis eases in Kenya after pump prices rise

NAIROBI, April 18 — Kenya’s three-week fuel crisis has eased as supplies improve at gas stations after the government raised pump prices.
The government on April 14 raised prices of petrol and diesel by 0.09 U.S. dollars to retail at 1.25 dollars and 1.09 dollars respectively in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
In the capital Nairobi and its environs, a spot check at various gas stations on Monday showed that the commodity was in high supply.
The long queues of motorists and motorbike riders that characterized the businesses are no longer there.
“You can fuel any amount you want. We no longer ration because we have more than enough,” Joseph, a petrol attendant at Tosha station in Kitengela on the outskirts of Nairobi, said on Monday.
Daniel Kiptoo, the director-general Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, said fuel supply had been restored across the country thus the market should operate at the optimum.
Monica Juma, the acting cabinet secretary, of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, has blamed the shortage on oil marketing companies hoarding the product awaiting mid-month price reviews to cash in.
“The players were additionally diverting cargo earmarked for local use for export into the region to further enhance their abnormal profits,” she said, as she assured the country the situation will normalize.
Following an increase in fuel prices by 0.09 dollars, the cost of most items has gone up in Kenya by up to 20 percent, rising inflationary pressure.
Kenyans now have to pay more to travel, for food, and other basic items as manufacturers pass the costs to consumers.
The move is expected to push up the east African nation’s inflation to a new high from 5.6 percent in March, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.    (Xinhua)