Kenyans are likely to face another fuel shortage crisis after some oil marketing companies (OMCs) exhausted their available stock and had to turn away motorists for the last couple of days as the retailers failed to secure oil from the ports due to the dollar shortage.
Over the last few days, some outlets in Nairobi have had to close early after running out of petroleum products with Vivo under the Shell brand being hit the hardest.
The situation has worsened over time with some petrol stations along Lang’ata Road reporting total depletion of the super petrol, V-Power, and diesel attributable to the dollar shortage.
“There is sufficient fuel at the depots but the major oil companies are not evacuating it because they do not have sufficient dollars,” said Petroleum Outlets Association of Kenya (POAK) Chairman Martin Chomba.
Read: EPRA Calls For Vigilance Over Sale of Contaminated Fuel
Although the government plans to start importing fuel on credit to reduce the demand for the dollar, the situation is likely to escalate over the next month if these measures are not effected immediately.
This is primarily because the value of the Shilling keeps worsening day by day due to the rising dollar demand to service imports in the country.
This imbalance is likely to take Kenya back to the fuel shortage crisis that was witnessed in late March last year where motorists had to struggle for the little fuel available.
However, President Ruto has promised some light at the end of the tunnel after floating a nine-month open tender for the supply of fuel through a new arrangement where oil marketing companies (OMCs) will have to compete to procure fuel.
The new arrangement aims to reduce the pressure on our forex reserves given that the payment will be made over a period of six months to one year compared to the current system where they have to pay weekly.
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