Deputy President William Ruto has hit out at corrupt government officials following the recent historic fuel hike.
Ruto alleged that some of the private companies were allocated Sh12 per litre, leading to punitive fuel costs.
“Decisions amongst them to ‘gift’ Sh12/litre to private companies causing the punitive fuel costs while cartels rake in super profits must be reversed asap,” Ruto said via Twitter on Tuesday.
“…and all corrupt public officials involved and benefiting be prosecuted. Price controls must be removed for Competition to lower prices.”
High fuel prices have affected the cost of living in the country, where inflation has been rising since April, hitting an 18-month high of 6.91 in August.
Manufacturers and transporters have warned of a jump in the cost of goods and services as they move to pass the high operational costs, occasioned by the fuel price jump, to the consumers.
Following the increase, super petrol, diesel, and kerosene went up to Sh134.72, Sh115.60, and Sh110.82 per litre respectively, in Nairobi.
All eyes are on the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority as it moves to review this month’s prices, which is expected to come out on Thursday.
Agricultural products are also expected to become costlier as diesel is a key input in production, mainly in large-scale farming where machinery is used.