Some Kisii residents have been forced to walk long distances after PSV owners withdrew their vehicles from the roads due to the fuel shortage.
The residents who spoke to the Star said they covered more than 10 kilometres to enable them to transact their businesses in Kisii town and other environs.
“I have been forced to trek for six kilometres to get to my working destination. The government should move with speed to address the fuel shortage crisis,” Peter Ondari told the Star.
“The shortage is affecting the economy.”
He said the few vehicles that were operating had hiked their fares because they are getting fuel at more than Sh200.
A spot check by the Star established that many of the petrol stations in Kisii were deserted while a few which had the commodity had long queues of vehicles and motorcycles.
Some of the PSV owners said their crew are forced to spend the night at petrol stations that have fuel.
They said they have loans to pay hence they cannot ground their vehicles.
The shortage continues despite the government and independent oil dealers reaching an agreement last Thursday that was meant to avail products to the groups that serve the vast remote area.
Already investigating agencies have started to probe fuel dealers, a move aimed at establishing the root cause of the crisis.
When Treasury CS Ukur Yatani presented 2022-2023 estimates, he said the government had allocated funds to pay fuel dealers to be able to deliver the essential commodity.
As the crisis gets worse, most companies that depend on fuel for their operations might soon be shut down.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
