President Ruto messed up the economy when he hit his pen on paper stopping the subsidies for petroleum products. The president’s action triggered the spike up of fuel prices resulting to more products increasing the prices.
It is unfortunate situation Kenyans found themselves in, contrary to their expectations of the new regime. The hustlers were eagerly waiting for the reduction of the cost of life, instead, the president slapped them on the face with high fuel prices.
The government subsidies on fuel play an integral role on reducing prices of most products such as electricity, flour, bus fare, bread, etc. but when the subsidy was removed, it triggered prices of many products going up.
The president should have hold on for a week or so, and form an emergency committee to deliberate on best ways to handle the fuel price crisis. The committee could have come up with solutions or recommendations on how to manage the fuel subsidies.
The way the president acted was not the best option, but the worst decision. The money lost from Kenyans’ pockets is more than what he was trying to rescue from the cartels as he and his team claim. The country generally will lose more money compared to what he was trying to save from the cartels.
From the high petroleum prices internationally, it will be difficult to come up with a working solution for Kenyans, unless the international prices go down. Petroleum prices are dictated by the international market. Therefore, containing the prices will be mindboggling for the regime, unless they remove or lower taxes.