Fuel crisis! Khalwale asks Ruto to fire Moses Kuria, David Chirchir and David Ndii
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has asked President William Ruto to fire Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria, his Energy counterpart Davis Chirchir, and Economic Advisor David Ndii.
Speaking in Kakamega on September 16, 2023, the high-ranking politician, who is a close ally of the Head of State, expressed his frustration in regard to the high cost of living and called for ‘immediate action’.
“I want to tell the President the people you assigned have led you to a ditch,” charged Khalwale.
“The Ministers for Trade, Energy, and the Economic Advisors, they have to tell us what they meant by the so-called government-to-government oil deal and things have worsened. Please sack these people. We want the price of fuel to reduce.”
The comments came hours after Khalwale was heckled by Kakamega residents during a public address when he suggested they dump their fuel-commissioned motorbikes for electrical ones so as to cushion themselves against the increased cost of fuel.
Khalwale’s take comes in the wake of skyrocketing fuel prices which have left many Kenyans struggling to make ends meet.
Fuel is currently retailing at Sh212 a litre, the highest ever in the country’s history, and an Sh70 increase in the past year since President Ruto assumed office.”
This has led to an increase in several other essential commodities and services including electricity and fares.
Farmers have also complained that the increase in the cost of fuel will undo most of the gains by the government in distributing subsidized fertilizer and lead to an increase in the cost of food.
Khalwale’s comments come two days after Kuria, who was incidentally left out of the President’s trip to the US, challenged Kenyans who are complaining about the high cost of fuel to ‘dig up their own fuel boreholes’.
Kuria further advised Kenyans to ‘plan’ because it was possible the cost of fuel would further increase by Sh60 by February 2024.
In February 2023, President Ruto praised his Council of Economic Advisors’ chairperson, David Ndii and Chirchir among other leaders for their ‘notable efforts to revive Kenya’s economic state’.
The President specified the team’s efforts in a deal that saw oil companies start paying for oil imported on credit through a government-to-government deal in Kenya shillings instead of the US dollar, to ease pressure on the local currency.
“In a special way, let me commend some of our performers, my economic advisor David Ndii, Mohamed Hassan, Davis Chirchir and the young man at EPRA,” the President pointed out.
“Those four gentlemen have done something phenomenal in our country. They have managed to put together that has taken us away from looking for 500 million dollars every month to buy our fuel needs, which was slowly snowballing into a crisis.”
Also read: Senior Counsel Samidoh? Controversial musician shares childhood dream
Team Rainbow, land grabbing, corruption… inside Sakaja, Babu Owino’s ‘X’ beef