Uliskia wapi! David Ndii says Ruto never promised ‘cheap power’
David Ndii, the Chairperson of the President’s Council of Economic advisors, now says President William Ruto never promised to lower the cost of power if elected.
He made the claim in a series of tweets.
“If you cared to peruse our manifesto, you would have noted that cheap power does not feature in our pledges on electricity,” Mr Ndii said.
Ndii further suggested lowering power bills may force President Ruto’s government to employ rationing of the essential commodity.
The respected economist said the increase in the cost of power bills entails several factors, including fuel and water levies.
Early this month, Water Resources and Management Authority (Warma) launched the process of demanding a bigger share of the electricity bills as it pushes its levy to Sh2 per unit of power from the current Sh0.01 per unit.
If its proposal sails through and is adopted by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra), the power bills will jump 88 percent per unit.
A few months ago, President Ruto said the government was working towards lowering electricity tariffs, adding that his administration was to prioritize low-income earners and manufacturers in the tariff review process.
“In three months, we will have public consultation to ensure that we have tariffs that are affordable to those at the bottom of the economic pyramid and our manufacturers,” President Ruto said in January.
Mr Ndii’s remarks come at the moment Kenyans are battling a high cost of living, which has attracted the attention of the Azimio leader Mr Raila Odinga.
Mr Odinga has so far given the government an ultimatum of two weeks to lower the cost of living or call for a demonstration across the country.
A group of men led by comedian Erick Omondi recently also protested the high cost of living outside Parliament buildings as they attempted to seek the attention of legislators.
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