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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nMATATU OWNERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT ALBERT KARAKACHA CONDEMNS EPRA FUEL PRICE HIKE, WARNS FARE INCREASE IS INEVITABLE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n By John Kariuki NAIROBI, KENYA – The President of the Matatu Owners Association (MOA), Mr. Albert Karakacha, has condemned in total the latest fuel price increase published on the EPRA website, warning that the sharp rise will be passed on to the end consumer and will worsen the cost of living for millions of Kenyans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the latest monthly pump price review published on the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) website, the price of Super Petrol has risen by Sh12.93 per litre, Diesel by Sh9.90 per litre, and Kerosene by a staggering Sh28.49 per litre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The announcement has sent shockwaves across the public transport sector, with matatu owners saying the industry was already on its knees due to high operational costs even before the latest increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking on Wednesday, Mr. Karakacha said the fuel price hike is punitive, unsustainable and ill-timed, coming at a time when matatu owners are struggling with multiple cost pressures that have severely eroded their margins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We condemn in total this increase. As Matatu Owners Association, we feel that this move by EPRA is insensitive to the realities on the ground. The cost of running a matatu has become unbearable. The cost of tires, insurance, maintenance of vehicles had already taken a toll on matatu owners even before this additional burden of fuel,” said Karakacha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Karakacha was blunt and unequivocal about what happens next for the ordinary commuter. He said matatu owners are businessmen, not charity organizations, and they cannot continue absorbing losses while the Government keeps increasing costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We are businessmen, we will pass it on to the consumer. We cannot be the ones cushioning the expenses while making losses. We are making the common Mwananchi cushion the expenses and that is not right, but we have been pushed to the wall. The public should come out and ask for answers,” Karakacha declared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He stated that for far too long, matatu owners have been unfairly expected to absorb shocks from fuel price increases, insurance hikes, and expensive spare parts, while protecting commuters from fare hikes. That, he said, is no longer tenable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We have tried to be patient. We have tried to understand. We have tried to cushion the mwananchi. But now we are saying enough is enough. We are businessmen. If you increase our cost of doing business, we will pass it to the consumer. That is how business works everywhere. The mwananchi is the one who will suffer, and therefore the mwananchi must also speak. The public should come out and ask for answers from EPRA and from the Government,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a bold call to the Government, Mr. Karakacha further called upon Kenya to borrow a leaf from Ethiopia which has banned tax on imported fuel products, saying the move has cushioned Ethiopian motorists and businesses from global price shocks and kept the cost of doing business low.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We want Kenya to borrow a leaf from Ethiopia. Ethiopia has banned tax on imported fuel products. That is why their economy is growing, their transport sector is stable and their cost of living is manageable. Why can’t Kenya do the same? Why must we overtax fuel and then punish our own people? If Ethiopia can do it, Kenya can do it. The Government should remove these punitive taxes on fuel,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Karakacha explained that fuel is the single largest operational cost for any matatu, accounting for more than 40 per cent of daily expenses. With the increase of Sh12.93 for petrol and Sh9.90 for diesel as published on the EPRA website, a matatu that consumes an average of 100 to 150 litres per day will now have to spend an extra Sh1,000 to Sh1,900 per day just on fuel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Where is that money supposed to come from? We are business people. If our costs go up, we have no option but to pass it on to the end consumer, the mwananchi. We do not want to increase fares, but we are being forced to. The Government must understand that when fuel prices go up, everything else goes up,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The MOA President noted that the matatu industry is a critical pillar of Kenya’s economy, employing thousands of drivers, conductors, mechanics, stage managers and other support staff, while moving over 70 per cent of commuters in Nairobi and other major towns daily. Any disruption in the sector, he warned, has far-reaching consequences for productivity and the cost of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Karakacha, matatu owners have in recent months been grappling with a raft of increased costs that have pushed many operators to the brink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “The price of a single tire, which used to cost Sh25,000, is now going for Sh38,000 to Sh45,000 depending on the size. Insurance premiums have gone up by over 30 per cent in the last one year. A comprehensive cover that was Sh180,000 is now Sh250,000. Spare parts, engine oil, brake pads, everything has gone up. And now you add fuel. How do you expect us to survive?” he posed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that many matatu owners took loans to purchase vehicles and are struggling to service those loans due to reduced returns, while others have been forced to ground their vehicles because they cannot afford maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The hike in kerosene by Sh28.49 per litre, the highest among the three products as per the EPRA website review, has also raised concerns for low-income households that depend on kerosene for cooking and lighting, further compounding the cost of living crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Karakacha said the matatu industry had been engaging the Government with proposals on how to cushion the sector and commuters from fuel price volatility, including the reintroduction of a fuel subsidy or a stabilization fund, reduction of taxes and levies on fuel, and allowing matatu owners to access cheaper credit for vehicle maintenance and transition to more fuel-efficient technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We have been proposing that the Government looks at the taxes on fuel. More than 50 per cent of what Kenyans pay at the pump is taxes, levies and margins. If Ethiopia has scrapped tax on imported fuel products to protect its citizens, what is stopping Kenya? If the Government is serious about lowering the cost of living and the cost of doing business, it must address the taxation regime on fuel. You cannot keep taxing fuel heavily and expect fares to remain low,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He cited that Kenya’s fuel prices are among the highest in the East African region, making it difficult for the transport sector to be competitive and affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The MOA President warned that if the current trend continues, commuters should brace for fare increments of between 20 and 30 per cent across various routes, especially during peak hours and on long-distance routes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MATATU OWNERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT ALBERT KARAKACHA CONDEMNS EPRA FUEL PRICE HIKE, WARNS FARE INCREASE IS…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10797","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10797","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10797"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10800,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10797\/revisions\/10800"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kenyatopstories.co.ke\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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