Government should stop subsidising the price of petrol and diesel.
It is cheap populism for government to promise to subsidise the cost of fuel when it cannot afford to do so.
The price of oil tripled last year. All over the world, consumers are complaining. In most countries, governments tell consumers there is nothing they can do. In the UK, multiple energy companies (providing home heating) have gone bust because they could not sustain their cheap price offers.
Government has not paid the December fuel subsidy and only half the November subsidy. It already owes the oil marketers around Sh6 billion. The industry is about to cut back on fuel imports as a result.
The subsidy reduces the cost of fuel by around five percent through the subsidy. Is it worth it? Without the subsidy, the price of a litre of fuel might jump from Sh129 to Sh135. Would the public really notice the difference?
MPs want to fix permanent terms for fuel prices in the new Petroleum Amendment Bill. It would make more sense to legally stipulate that the price of fuel should never be subsidised by government.
Quote of the day: "The less men think, the more they talk."
Montesquieu
The French philosopher was born on January 18, 1689
