Mbadi: Matatu strike over fuel prices uncalled for

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has termed the ongoing nationwide matatu strike over high fuel prices as unnecessary, even as he acknowledged that the rising cost of fuel was hurting ordinary Kenyans.

Speaking during an interview with NTV Kenya on Monday, Mbadi said the government was closely monitoring the situation and would respond cautiously rather than making rushed decisions driven by public pressure.

“In my view, the strike is completely uncalled for even though the prices of fuel have gone up,” Mbadi said.

“My concern is that we are trying to solve a global problem, applying domestic means, which is not appropriate,” he added.

The Treasury CS linked the sharp rise in fuel prices to the ongoing conflict involving Iran in the Middle East, saying the crisis had disrupted global oil markets and negatively impacted economies across the world, including Kenya.

“We hope the Iran war will stop quickly. It is a war we have not caused and we do not have the ability to stop it, but it has hit our economy,” Mbadi stated.

“This is a matter we are watching closely as a government and we will be making decisions which are informed and not emotional. It is not time to make emotional decisions. We need to understand why these prices have gone up.”

Mbadi revealed that the government had already stepped in to cushion Kenyans from the full impact of the increase in global oil prices through subsidies and other interventions.

According to him, diesel prices have risen by about 55 per cent since February, but the government had absorbed more than 20 per cent of the increase.

“If we were to leave prices without intervention, diesel would be costing not less than Sh35 more and petrol would be Sh70 more. Already government has intervened although there may be calls for more to be done.”

Mbadi, however, warned that continued increases in fuel prices could derail Kenya’s economic projections by fueling inflation and exerting pressure on interest rates and foreign reserves.

“Let me make it clear that what we are seeing is unfortunate, that prices have gone up and it is hitting the economy,” he said.

“The economy will not perform as projected because with high fuel prices there will be high inflation, we will have a problem with interest rates, we may have a problem with foreign reserves.”

He further cautioned against politicising the crisis, insisting that the government was committed to doing more despite budgetary limitations.

“This is a crisis that we do not know when it will end. It is not right to politicise this crisis,” Mbadi said.

“We have done something, we will do more. Our budget is also facing strain so there is a limit of how far we could go. But we may end up sacrificing more depending on happenings in the Middle East.”

His remarks came as thousands of commuters in Nairobi were left stranded on Monday morning after matatu operators made good on their threat to paralyse public transport services in protest against soaring fuel prices.

The disruption followed a joint statement issued on Sunday, May 17, by the Transport Sector Alliance announcing a nationwide shutdown of operations in protest against the recent fuel price increase by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).

The Truckers Association of Kenya also joined matatu operators in threatening a nationwide strike beginning Monday over the sharp rise in fuel prices, raising fears of further disruptions in transport and supply chains across the country.