Overview:
This followed revelations by the country’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority body that the leading oil majors increased their fuel exports to neighbouring countries including Uganda and Kenya leading to the ongoing shortage that has persisted for three weeks.
The Managing Director and CEO of Rubis Energy in Kenya, Jean-Christian Bergeron, has been ordered to leave the country on claims of economic sabotage due to the ongoing fuel crisis in Kenya.
This was after the Kenyan State Directorate of Immigration revoked Bergeron’s work permit and ordered him to leave the country following weeks of shortages that have caused a public outcry, local media reports.
Local reports indicate that deportation order that was signed by Kenyan Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i followed revelations by the country’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority body that the leading oil majors increased their fuel exports to neighbouring countries including Uganda and Kenya leading to the ongoing shortage that has persisted for three weeks.
And after a meeting with Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta, the country’s Energy minister Monica Juma recommended further sanctions against oil marketing companies that were complicit in creating the fuel shortage in the country, according to local media.
Four oil marketing companies are set to face punitive measures, including reducing the capacity that they import into the East African country. W
Further, the Kenyan government is said to have set plans in motion to strengthen the capacity of National Oil to avert such a crisis in future, and also to have a bigger role in the fuel retail business.
The dealers have linked the shortages to a lack of clarity on the fuel subsidy that Kenya government introduced last April to stabilise prices.
Delays in the payment of subsidies to the companies by the government have pushed up prices in the wholesale market where oil majors resell fuel to the smaller independent fuel retailers, who control 40 per cent of the market.
This has seen the small retailers hesitate to buy the costly fuel, with the increased supply of oil majors unable to plug the deficit.
The shortage has crippled some transport firms and opened an avenue for some dealers to raise prices above the caps set by the country oil sector regulator.
In some areas, a litre of petrol retailing at Sh200 about UGX. 6100