Sunday, April 21, 2024 - President William Ruto’s Economic Advisor David Ndii has defended high fuel prices in Kenya, saying the President is justified in overcharging Kenyans for the precious good.
This was after a national daily
stated that despite the recent slashing of prices, fuel in Kenya remained
the costliest among East African countries.
While defending Ruto’s
administration, Ndii stated that the high fuel prices were key in funding the
development agenda.
“Kenya has one of the largest,
densest and well-maintained road networks in Africa, paid for with fuel levy
funds,” he stated.
The economist told government
critics that they should not expect development without paying the price.
“There are no free lunches.
Public goods are paid for,” he stated.
Kenya has the third-highest road
network in Africa boasting 177,800 kilometres of road connection.
This is only bettered by South
Africa at 750,000 kilometres and Nigeria at 195,000 kilometres.
Uganda and the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) are the only other EAC countries to feature in the top
10 list at 159,366 kilometres and 153,373 kilometres respectively.
In May 2023, President William
Ruto explained that his administration had doubled fuel tax from 8 per cent to
16 per cent to be able to raise cash for infrastructural
development.
He stated that his
administration had an uphill task to raise over Ksh600 billion which was
committed by his predecessor to finance various road projects.
“If I have to complete these
projects, I need money. Everywhere I go, Kenyans tell me they need roads,” he
stated then.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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