- The PS explained that Epra was mandated by law to effect the changes upon gazettement by the CS in charge of Transport.
- Murkomen, who is now the nominee for Sports CS, was in charge of the Transport Ministry at the time.
Image: ENOS TECHE/FILE
The Ministry of Energy has thrown former Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen under the bus over the unilateral increase of road maintenance levy.
The increase hiked prices for fuel by about Sh8 per litre.
The development comes after the Energy ministry and the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority denied taking part in the increase of the levy.
In a report to the Senate, Petroleum PS Mohamed Liban could not confirm whether Murkomen, who is charged with gazetting the levy, conducted public participation before the gazettement.
“The public participation was therefore not to be conducted by Epra but by the minister responsible for reviewing the Roads Maintenance Levy as provided for in the Act,” Liban said.
The PS explained that Epra is only mandated by law to effect the changes upon gazettement by the CS in charge of Transport.
Murkomen, who is now the nominee for Sports CS, was in charge of the Transport ministry at the time.
“The Epra had to include the revised rates of the RML in the computation of the applicable prices for the period July 15 -August 14 pricing cycle,” he said.
This, the PS said, is in line with the provisions of Regulation 3 (3) of the Petroleum (pricing) Regulations, 2022 (Legal Notice No. 192 of 2022).
Last month, Epra increased the RML after Murkomen gazetted the hikes, triggering an uproar.
Consequently, the levy increased the fuel price by 39 per cent per litre, from Sh18 to Sh25.
“The application RML rates were revised upwards by Sh7 per litre on both super petrol and diesel. This therefore means that the impact on the pump is an increase of Sh8.12 per litre, inclusive of Value Added Tax ,” the PS said.
According to PS Liban, the projected prices of super petrol, diesel and kerosene were to reduce by Sh5.27, Sh6.74 and Sh0.2 per litre respectively, in the last review.
“Petroleum pricing in Kenya is undertaken in accordance with the Petroleum (Pricing) Regulations, 2022 (Legal Notice No. 192 of 2022),” the PS said.
Section 3 of the Road Maintenance Levy Fund Act provides that the (Transport) minister, shall, in consultation with the minister for the time being responsible for Finance, by order published in the Gazette, ….impose on any or all petroleum fuels entered for home use in Kenya a road maintenance levy which may be determined from time to time in such manner as the minister may specify in the order.
Before the gazettement of the changes, Murkomen had sought to address issues raised by Kenyans on the then proposal to increase the RML, saying it would not in any way impact fuel prices or the cost of living.
He said the aim was to bridge the financing gap in the maintenance of roads, saying the current collections which average Sh80 billion annually, are not sufficient.
Murkomen acknowledged that there have been fears among Kenyans that the plan would negatively impact their financial situation.
“From the views we have received, many Kenyans are worried that an increase in the levy will result in a rise in the cost of living and fuel prices," Murkomen said in a statement.
Murkomen had said should Epra not impose the levy, most roads constructed in the last decade would go into ruins.
He explained that contractors were mandated to maintain a road for three years and then shift the responsibility to the national government.
According to the former CS, it was unreasonable for the government to spend billions of shillings constructing roads and fail to maintain them.
He has projected that with the current trend, the financial gap is expected to hit Sh315 billion in the 2028-29 financial year.