President William Ruto has fiercely maintained that the country will not return to the era of subsidies disputing media allegations that his administration has resumed the fuel subsidy.
On Wednesday at the Devolution Conference in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, the President described the claims as public misinformation, maintaining that his government had not reversed its decision to eliminate the fuel subsidy.
The head of state defended the Energy, Petroleum and Regulatory Authority's (EPRA) recent decision to reimburse oil marketing businesses under the Petroleum Development Fund (PDF).
While the government will not return the subsidies, he also stated that PDF is embedded in the Constitution to protect citizens from fuel price increases.
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"I read in one of the newspapers today that we have reinstated oil product subsidies." Let me assure the country that we will not return to any subsidy that distorts things and causes us a lot of unneeded leakage," he remarked.
"If the Nation newspaper would bother to understand the facts, we are making prudent and proper use of the Petroleum Development Levy that is provided in the law; it is intended to develop the petroleum industry and stabilize prices whenever there are unintended hikes," he added.
President Ruto added: “Instead of the Nation commending us for using the PDL as provided in the law, they have decided to be negative.”
Daniel Kiptoo, CEO of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), had earlier echoed the same sentiments saying that the Petroleum Development Levy was used as compensation to stabilize prices.
“What has been applied is stabilization not a subsidy. The petroleum development levy was put in place to amongst other things cussion Kenyans from spikes in petroleum pump prices,” he said.
