Ndii: Kenyans spend more on DSTV and Netflix compared to electricity
President William Ruto’s special advisor on economic matters, David Ndii, has attempted to justify the high cost of electricity by saying Kenyans spend more on luxuries such as Pay-tv channel DSTV and Netflix.
Ndii gun blazed at Kenyans for calling him out over a pre-election promise by President Ruto that he will lower the cost of living upon assuming office.
The respected economist has been on the receiving by Kenyans on Twitter on the high cost of electricity.
Kenyans part with Sh8,970 every month to pay for the DSTV premium bouquet.
The price for accessing programs on Netflix range from Sh300 for basic, Sh700 for standard, and Sh1,100 for premium per month.
Ndii tweeted: “Why do I see the same middle-class tweeps who were trolling me and disparaging wheelbarrows camped here demanding cheap power like it’s a matter of life and death, yet data shows they spend more on DSTV, Netflix, etc than on power. Powering your microwave ovens is not a priority.”
Why do I see same middle class tweeps who were trolling me and disparaging wheelbarrows camped here demanding cheap power like it’s a matter of life and death, yet data shows they spend more on DSTV, Netflix etc than on power. Powering your microwave ovens is not a priority.
— David Ndii (@DavidNdii) March 12, 2023
This is even after electricity prices shot by 10 percent in the latest monthly adjustment due to higher fuel prices and a weaker local currency.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) raised the fuel cost charge (FCC) to Sh8.3 ($0.064) per kilowatt-hour (kWh) up from Sh6.59 ($0.051) per unit last month.
This was the highest rate of the fuel energy component since June 2012 when it hit a record Sh9.03 ($0.070) per kWh.
On the flip side, President Ruto in his manifesto promised to lower the cost of power but Ndii said that the Head of State never promised that.
“If you cared to peruse our manifesto, you would have noted that cheap power does not feature in our pledges on electricity,” he said in a series of tweets.
He further suggested lowering power bills may force President Ruto’s government to employ rationing of the essential commodity.
In his address to the media on March 12, 2023, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua suggested the government was looking at ways to lower the cost of electricity.
He also threw Ndii under the bus saying: “David Ndii is an advisor of the president; he does not pronounce policy. Public policy is pronounced by the president and the respective cabinet secretaries’.
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