Government is provoking Kenyans into action - NCCK SG Kinyanjui

During a panel interview on Daybreak, Kinyanjui questioned why former Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen would hike the Road Maintenance Levy from Ksh.18 per litre to Ksh.25 per litre days after promising to retain the amount.  

He noted that such actions self-sabotage the government's plans to restore public trust. 

"We have a trust deficit. Our call on this government is to build up the trust they've lost in the two years they've been in office. Former CS Transport said the government will not increase the fuel levy. A few days later we see a Gazette notice of the increase, whom are you going to trust?" he questioned. 

Canon Kinyanjui also wondered why President William Ruto's administration bypassed the due process required to increase the fuel levy especially at a time when Gen Zs protests have rocked the country. 

"The president speaks about the increase. There's a lot of information that's not been done by the state. It can increase but there's a due process of how it can be done. We don't feel the due process has been followed," he said. 

"When it comes to increasing taxes when we've just had an uproar in the increase of taxes under the Finance Bill, you're putting salt to injury. There's a sense in which the state is provoking the people to action and that's not how the government is run."

The funds from the Road maintenance levy goes towards developing and maintaining road network across the country. In early July 2024, former CS Murkomen alleged that the government would look for alternative means to raise the money needed to maintain roads. 

Days later, he gazetted the increase, sparking public uproar from Kenyans who noted that the cost of living would go high. 

In response to the public's concerns, President Ruto confirmed that the fuel levy would not affect the prices at the pump. 

"As a government, we have done a good thing, we have made sure that on the issue of Fuel levy, we have gotten enough resources to cater for all the roads that need attention and those that have stalled to enhance transport. We have also ensured that the matter of fuel levy does not affect Kenyans. The price at the pump continues to go down," Ruto said in Nakuru County on Sunday, July 15.