Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro has taken a swipe at the government over the recent sharp increase in fuel prices, accusing the Ministry of Energy of misleading the public and failing to provide full transparency.
Speaking on Monday, Nyoro dismissed the government’s explanation that attributed the fuel hike to rising global oil prices. He argued that international crude prices were actually higher in 2023 than they are now, and said the current increase has more to do with heavy taxation and hidden financial manoeuvres.
“The real problem isn’t the global market, it’s the excessive taxes and levies slapped on fuel locally,” Nyoro stated. “Over 80 shillings of every litre of petrol and 76 shillings for other fuels go straight into government coffers through taxes.”He claimed that the government quietly introduced a KSh 7 fuel levy last year, at a time when global fuel prices were falling. According to him, this move effectively cancelled out any potential relief for consumers at the pump.
Even more worrying, Nyoro said that that the government has securitized this levy to borrow Ksh175 billion a figure he says never passed through Parliament or appeared in official debt records.
“That raises serious accountability and legal questions. This is public money being used as collateral, yet there is no parliamentary oversight," he said, demanding answers on who issued the loan, at what interest rate, and how the money is being used.He questioned how much the government has borrowed, from whom, at what interest, and what implications this has for future budgets.
He warned that the government is now spending money collected in advance for the next several years, locking out future administrations from making budgetary decisions.
“If we continue using public levies as collateral for loans without parliamentary oversight, what will stop future lenders from securitizing our VAT, PAYE, or NHIF? What will be left of Kenya’s financial sovereignty?” he asked.He is calling the National Treasury to come clean, urging for a public audit of all off-book borrowing and national conversation on responsible fiscal management.