President William Ruto’s promise to lower the prices of basic commodities was evident following the latest Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) report released on Tuesday, February 28.
With most Kenyans grappling with the high cost of living, the reduction in prices on six crucial basic commodities came as a huge relief.
Among basic items that registered a drop in price for the period between January 2023 and February 2023 included fortified maize flour and electricity tokens.
The price of a 2-kilogram fortified maize flour dropped by 2.5 per cent with most retail stores selling the commodity at an average price of Ksh180 as erarlier promised by the Head of State.
On February 23, the President promised to continue intervention measures to lower the prices of Maize flour.
“When we took over, the price of maize flour was Ksh230, we have managed to bring it down to Ksh180 and we have the plan to lower it further to Ksh120,” he promised Kenyans.
Electricity prices also registered a significant drop of 2.9 per cent and 3.7 per cent for 200 kilowatts and 50 kilowatts respectively.
On Tuesday, February 28, Ruto’s government revealed further plans to reduce the cost of electricity.
This was after the Cabinet approved the lifting of the moratorium on Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) as a way of enhancing our nation’s energy security by opening up the energy sector for continued investments.
The Cabinet further revealed that it will lower prices by regulating prices of independent power contractors who were faulted for charging Kenya Power exorbitantly - a move that led to increased token prices.
A 2-kilogram packet of wheat flour registered a 2.4 per cent price drop with most retailers selling at an average price of Ksh191.
Brown sugar averaged Ksh141 while white sugar retailed at an average of Ksh150 - which was a 3.2 per cent drop.
A kilogram of mangoes also registered a 4.8 per cent drop which was attributed to the precious fruit's harvesting season.
Items that registered an increase in price include; monthly housing rent (0.3 per cent), cooking gas (4.7 per cent), oranges (2.8 per cent), tomatoes (7.8 per cent), Kales (11 per cent), carrots (11.3 per cent) and cabbages (11.3 per cent).
On Sunday, February 26, Ruto provided his roadmap for making sure that cooking gas became affordable to every household.
“I have ordered that in the next budget, we remove all the taxation on gas. This will reduce the cost of gas and make it affordable for every household,” Ruto promised the nation.
