Thursday, May 4, 2023 – Former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s troubles may have just begun after Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei opened Pandora’s Box on the scandalous fuel subsidy program.
Cherargei demanded to know the whole truth about the program which he said led Kenya to lose billions to cartels.
He called upon the Senate Committee on Energy to clarify the fuel subsidy program under Uhuru’s regime.
Specifically, Cherargei demanded to understand the exact criteria used in selecting the oil corporations that were authorized to import fuel under the government fuel subsidy program that was in place from October 2021 to September 2022.
This, the Senator insinuated that the tender award process might have been flawed.
The Senator further asked for the full list of oil companies that benefited from the fuel subsidy program as well as the total amount of money that each company received during the period in question.
Additionally, Cherargei probed the committee to explain the measures that were put in place by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) to ensure consumers were cushioned against the high cost of fuel and oil products, noting that the products remained relatively expensive at that time.
Lastly, Cherargei demanded to be furnished with the total pending payments as a subsidy to each of the companies that imported fuel under the program.
The multi-billion fuel subsidy introduced by the former Head of State was aimed at cautioning Kenyans against the tough economic times.
However, when President William Ruto ascended to power, he scrapped the subsidies noting that the measure proved ineffective.
“If the subsidy continues to the end of the financial year, the amount would increase to Ksh280 billion equivalent to the entire national government development budget,” Ruto stated.
Meanwhile, a report from the Auditor General Nancy Gathungu released in March disclosed that Ksh34 billion vanished 15 months before the 2022 General Election as a result of the fuel subsidy program.
The Auditor General hinted that the amount aimed at cushioning Kenyans may have ended up in select people’s pockets.
She added that at least Ksh554 million was overpaid to 11 oil marketing companies.
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