Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Alliance presidential candidate Raila Odinga has gone after big oil companies in a game-changing proposal to provide a long-term solution to the ongoing fuel crisis.
Speaking during a meeting with stakeholders in the petroleum industry on Wednesday, April 6, Raila opined that, for the crises to be sorted out, corporates who import fuel on large scale should not compete with retailers in selling the product directly to motorists.
The former Prime Minister noted that the current monopoly, where the corporates also run the leading filling stations, was unfair and left motorists at the mercy of big companies that enjoy extensive financial resources.
"We need to improve the relationship between the retailer and the wholesaler who have a bit of cushion in terms of financial muscle. They are able to get and pay loans from the banks which enables them to get large stock which the small scale dealer in Kirinyaga cannot get so now they give their own outlets.
"We now have a situation where the wholesaler becomes the retailer which brings up a monopoly. Is that really fair?" Odinga posed.
He noted that the government needed to work around reducing the gap between the two to ensure a workable business environment. The former premier also brought forth the idea of the country increasing its fuel reserves.
The former Prime Minister opined that Kenya needed to explore having offshore reserves where the fuel is stored to ensure a continuous supply of oil in the event that prolonged crises in oil-producing countries occur.
"This country needs to address the issue of strategic reserves. We need to have oil reserves not only at the port but also inland and in places where they are not vulnerable to attacks," he noted.
The African Union High Representative for Infrastructure and Development attributed the fuel shortage to external factors, noting that the government sources oil internationally and the cost is determined by the volatile market forces.
Raila stated that under his government, the state would cushion its citizens through subsidies, money mostly generated through tax.
"We cushion the consumer from the suffering they are currently going through, but the government also does not have any other source of income and hence has to collect taxes from the people. If the prices are much higher than the taxes, where does the government get that additional fund to pay?" he posed.
The signing of the Supplementary Budget bill into law by President Uhuru Kenyatta saw the release of Ksh34.4 billion which the government will use to pay wholesale suppliers a bill totalling Ksh13 billion.
