Kenya’s new president scraps petrol subsidy | Oil and Gas News

President Ruto says subsidies have been costly and prone to abuse, including causing artificial shortages of subsidised products.

Kenya has scrapped a subsidy on petrol a day after new President William Ruto said subsidies were unsustainable, in a move that could add to upward pressure on inflation.

Some of the key challenges the new president faces include bringing down the high cost of fuel and food in East Africa’s most dominant economy. But he will also have to grapple with subsidy measures that policymakers warn could empty the country’s coffers – and debt inherited from his successor, Uhuru Kenyatta.

In a speech after his swearing-in ceremony on September 13, Ruto said subsidies had been costly and prone to abuse, including causing artificial shortages of the subsidised products.

Late on Wednesday, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority set new, higher fuel prices for petrol, diesel and kerosene, which is commonly used for cooking by many households.

Petrol rose by 13 percent, diesel was up 18 percent and kerosene increased by 16 percent from a month earlier.

The regulator removed the subsidy on petrol, but retained it on both diesel and kerosene, saying those prices could have shot up even further.

Analysts said it was likely the new hikes would push inflation even higher, from a five-year high of 8.5 percent in August.

Like in other parts of the world, inflation in Kenya has accelerated, mainly due to the knock-on effects of a jump in crude oil prices. It stood at around 5 percent at the start of 2022.

In June, the finance ministry said Kenya could run out of funds to subsidise fuel costs if prices kept rising, pushing public debt to unsustainable levels.

“The current government is between a rock and a hard place,” Aly-Khan Satchu, an economic analyst and the CEO of investment adviser Rich Management, said.

“What we are seeing here is instead of going for shock and awe of lifting all the subsidies in one go, they are doing it in a more phased manner.”