- Raila has demanded the reduction of fuel prices by Sh48 or Sh50.
- Ichung'wah said the opposition was trying to politicise the fuel issue.
Image: PCS
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah has told off opposition leader Raila Odinga over his demand that the prices of fuel be reduced by nearly Sh50.
The Kikuyu MP said on Sunday that the prices of fuel are determined by market forces and not solely by the government.
Raila has demanded the reduction of fuel prices by Sh48 or Sh50 in line with the decrease in prices of petroleum products in the world market.
"Azimio la Umoja Coalition demands that local prices should be reduced by Sh48 or Sh50," he said.
"We have information that global prices have gone down."However, Ichung'wah chided Raila asking him how he was able to determine the margin of reduction of the prices of fuel.
''I have heard him say that the prices of fuel should reduce by Sh45, but I am surprised how he arrived at the figure because the price of fuel is determined by supply and demand and the forces of the economy,'' he said.
Ichung'wah said the opposition was trying to politicise the fuel issue even when he knows that the country's fuel prices are influenced by other forces outside the government's control.
In the one-month review, shared by EPRA as of November 15, the price of super petrol remained unchanged at Sh217.36 per litre in Nairobi while diesel and kerosene dropped by Sh2.
Diesel is retailing at Sh203.47, while a litre of kerosene retails at Sh203.06.
Director General Daniel Kiptoo noted that consumers will not bear the burden despite the average landed cost of imported super petrol having increased by 2.81 per cent per cubic metre in October, diesel by 3.28 per cent and kerosene by 6.31 per cent.
"To cushion consumers from the spike in pump prices as a consequence of the landed costs, the government has opted to stabilise pump prices for the November-December 2023 pricing cycle.
The National Treasury has identified resources within the current resource envelope to compensate oil marketing companies," he said.
At the same time, Ichung'wah said the National Assembly will debate the National Dialogue Committee report once the house resumes from Christmas recess.
''I can confirm to you that we tabled the report in the house on Thursday and it will be ready for debate when the house resumes,'' he said.
The MP said the MPs will ensure that the Ward development fund is enacted either in law or in the Constitution.
''It is important that all our wards have their own money to plan for development in their wards, we will be able to debate and make sure that it is in law whether by statute or in the constitution,'' he said.
Ichung'wah said that even if the president inherited a dilapidated economy, the efforts he has put in place have started to pay off.
''We thank God and very soon the economy will be taking off, our economy now is not in a bottomless pit as we inherited it,'' he said.
He urged Kenyans to ignore the criticism from the opposition saying they had been thrown into confusion after the government's strategy to reduce the cost of living paid off.