Azimio flagbearer Raila Odinga has blamed oil marketers for hoarding fuel and creating an artificial crisis so that they can make a killing from the priced commodity.
Speaking on Wednesday in Nairobi at a meeting with stakeholders in the energy sector, the former prime minister said the country was witnessing a monopoly favoring large firms that have ended up hoarding fuel.
”We now have these issues of monopoly. You are the wholesaler and want to retail at the same time. We have big wholesalers competing with the small retailer…Is that really fair?” Raila posed, while proposing the country should put up oil reserves for moments like this so that the marketers do not take advantage of Kenyans.
”We need to have oil reserves not only at the port but also inland. They need to be put up in places where they are not vulnerable. All the stakeholders in this country need to sit down and work on a permanent solution. This is a situation that is avoidable,” Odinga added.
On Monday, President Uhuru Kenyatta signed the 1st 2021-2022 supplementary budget estimates into law clearing the path for the release of Ksh.34 billion to oil marketing companies (OMCs).
The assent of the bill was seen as timely in resolving the current fuel shortage which has been linked to product hoarding by OMCs as they push for the payment of arrears from the fuel subsidy.
