A late-night meeting involving top officials from the National Treasury, Ministry of Energy, and the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) was held to cushion Kenyans from an imminent rise in fuel costs.
Reports by Business Daily indicate that State House and the National Intelligence Service were keen to defuse public anger if there was another hike in fuel prices, pushing petrol to the highest price in recent times.
"We made a late decision to cut the suppliers margin and offer millions of motorists a relief. This was more of a political decision than an economic one because public anger has been mounting," an insider privy to the meeting disclosed.
The night meeting led to EPRA announcing on Wednesday, April 14, that the prices would remain unchanged in the next 30 days - a first since the government began reviewing fuel prices monthly in 2010.
Motorists in Nairobi will continue paying Ksh122.81 for Super Petrol, Ksh107.66 for Diesel and Ksh97.85 for Kerosene.
In Mombasa, Super Petrol will retail at Ksh120.41, Ksh105.27 for Diesel and Ksh95.46 for Kerosene. In Eldoret, the fuel prices will see Super Petrol go for Ksh123.36 Diesel for Ksh108.46 and Kerosene for Ksh98.68.
In Kisumu, the fuel prices are as follows: Super Petrol will retail at Ksh 123.36, Diesel will go for Ksh 108.46 whereas Kerosene will be Ksh 98.68.
Initially, reports indicated that EPRA would increase fuel prices to a record high for the month of April.
The price for petrol in Nairobi would increase by Ksh 4.30 to Ksh127.11 while diesel would rise to Ksh109.96 from Ksh107.66.
The news comes as Kenyans had expressed concerns due to the high cost of living and a sluggish economy caused by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This has seen thousands rendered jobless as a majority of businesses within various counties closed. As a result, Kenyans have taken to social media to appeal the government to cushion them from an economic crisis.
