The Motorists Association of Kenya (MAK) has called for the break-up of the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), blaming the regulator for consistently short-changing Kenyans with what it termed “cosmetic” cutting of fuel prices.
The petition came after EPRA’s latest monthly review of fuel prices, which saw slight drops at the petrol stations: Super Petrol came down by Ksh0.79, Diesel by as little as Ksh0.11, and Kerosene by Ksh0.80 per litre.
“Monday’s price review for yesterday, following last month’s contemptible one-shilling cut, is an insult to working Kenyans,” MAK said in a highly charged statement on Monday. “It is an insult to motorists and to the Kenyan public in general.”
The fresh fuel prices effective at midnight on September 15 position Super Petrol at Ksh184.52 per litre in Nairobi, Diesel at Ksh171.47, and Kerosene at Ksh154.78.
MAK condemned the price variations as insensitive to the country’s economic situation and faulted EPRA for lack of transparency and public accountability.
The company went back to 2013, when the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) was eliminated. At that time, MAK had advocated for a pricing formula that they assert was scientific, transparent, and participatory.
That structure, they went on to elaborate, brought certainty by connecting local prices with movements in international oil as well as domestic economic cues with input from the media among other stakeholders.
“Fuel procurement has a three-month cycle from order to landing,” the group stated, questioning the need for monthly price adjustments. “This monthly circus only gets the public used to accepting exploitative, random price hikes.”
MAK also charged the government-to-government oil procurement system of being opaque compared to the open tender system previously in charge of oil imports.
In their statement, the association called for EPRA to be dismantled and fuel prices to be brought back to the ERC-formula, which was more transparent in their opinion. Or, in an alternative system, they proposed a free market setup, allowing competition and world market forces to determine pump prices.
As MAK, we shall not be silent. We demand the ERC be dissolved immediately and either return to the open formula ERC or return to a free market,” the statement concluded.