Azimio leader Raila Odinga has issued ten demands to President William Ruto, faulting the Government-to-Government oil deal for the suffering of Kenyans and Kenyan companies.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, November 16, the opposition leader pointed out faults in the deal stating that it was a fraud that benefited specific individuals.
Further, Raila stated that contrary to what Ruto promised the deal would deliver, the cost of oil had not come down since the deal was signed, the shilling continued to fall against the dollar and the scarcity of the dollar escalated.
‘There was no G-to-G. Kenya did not sign any contract with Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Only the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum signed a deal with state owned petroleum companies in the Middle East.
“Why Ruto chose to characterize the deal as a G-to-G is the first red flag that points to mischief in this deal,” he stated.
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Azimio Details Charges by Kenya Pipeline on Oil at Port
Concerning oil consignments at the port, Raila explained that Ships were queuing at sea for up to 18 days awaiting confirmation of in order to be discharged.
“Then the companies incur demurrage, which is transferred to the consumer. Under the Open Tender System, demurrage costs are Ksh6,844,500 ($45,000) per day for the biggest tanker (LR2) docking at the Port of Mombasa and $31,000 per day for the second-biggest vessel (LR1).
“Under the Ruto deal, demurrage has risen up to Ksh4,716,650 ($70,000) per day. This cost is passed on to consumers at the pump,” he added.
Additionally, the leader of opposition noted that the deal had led to high cost of oil products sourced through the Northern Corridor Transit Route (Kenya route).
Raila Ropes In Ann Njoroge
On the case of businesswoman Ann Njeri Njoroge, Raila stated that she may not have been capable of funding an oil importation business on her own.
The leader of the opposition claimed that she must have been representing other individuals who needed to be identified.
“You have seen that woman in the oil business, and you know how much is required to get into the oil business, it’s about Ksh17 billion. Look at the face of that woman, is it her oil, or is she representing other people?
“What we want to know is the identity of the people she is representing. The whole thing is very theatrical,” he stated.
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Raila Addresses Kenya Losing Uganda Oil Deal
Also, Raila lamented that the deal led to the loss of partnerships and investments from neighboring countries, highlighting Uganda, which had withdrawn importation deal because of exploitation from middlemen.
According to him, the middlemen accused of exploitation were in fact government officials.
“The exact same scenario is prevailing here. The middlemen president Museveni is talking about are Kenya government officials.
“You will have noticed that Tanzania recently reduced the cost of petroleum products from 1 November while Kenya’s remain the same or just marginally changed,” he stated.
Azimio’s 10 Demands to Ruto
Subsequently, Raila issued the following demands to the head of state to save Kenyans from the high cost of living as a result of increased fuel prices.
He demanded that Ruto must immediately cancel the contract and revert to the Open Tender System which ensured guaranteed supply of petroleum products.
“It assigned responsibility to various players as opposed to the so-called G to G that is making Kenyans depend on one inefficient and corrupt player,” he stated.
Secondly, he demanded that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission – EACC ought to move in not to sanitize but to get to the bottom of how and why Kenya got into the deal and who was benefiting from it.
Thirdly, Raila stated that the men and women who came up with the ‘self-serving’ deal ought to be surcharged and sacked.
In addition, he stated that the government ought to restore Value Added Tax – VAT to 8 per cent from the 16 percent that came with the Finance Act.
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The fifth demand stated that the government ought to make public the so-called MoU between Kenya and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Further, he asked that the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum make public the deal it signed with the oil companies. and make public the Supplier Purchase Agreement signed with the oil companies.
Raila also called on EACC and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to investigate the tax compliance status and pricing model of the three oil companies,
Also, he roped in the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) come clean on the tax compliance status of the three oil companies and explain why they are being enabled to evade billions in taxes while ordinary Kenyans are being harassed for taxes.
Finally, the leader of opposition stated that they need a comprehensive brief on what the move by Uganda to pursue much of its petroleum needs through the Tanzanian Central corridor meant to the country especially to the future of the Kenya Pipeline Company.
