05 September 2016, Nairobi – The national government has revoked licences of companies involved in the sale of adulterated petroleum products along the Eldoret-Nakuru highway, Energy cabinet secretary says.
Mr Charles Keter spoke in Nakuru on Sunday after visiting stations found dealing in the illegal trade.
The move comes after police, acting on a tip-off on Friday last week, unearthed the syndicate involving five stations: three in Rongai, one in Pipeline area and the other near Molo.
More than 450,000 litres of impure petroleum were intercepted.
“We have decided to cancel all the licences for the firms involved. We cannot allow cartels to compromise the quality of our petroleum products,” he said.
Mr Keter, however, said the names of the companies will be revealed tomorrow as they had not yet been forwarded to the Ministry.
He said Kenya has lost its regional oil market due to adulteration of fuel on transit.
“Kenya sells fuel to countries like Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi. In Burundi we are at zero per cent while Rwanda is at 20 per cent,” he said.
The cabinet secretary added that one of the major contributors to the illegal business is the cheap cost and tax of kerosene in Kenya compared to other East African countries.
“Initially the tax on kerosene was 45 cents until this year’s budget when the tax was increased to seven shillings. The low taxation on the commodity is the major contributor to the illegal business,” said the CS.
- Daily Nation