• The VAT on cooking gas will be removed to reduce cost.

• Cooking gas will be made available to every household.

• The use of gas will reduce the use of firewood which will help with the preservation of the environment.

In the spirit of mitigating the food crisis, President William Ruto has promised to lower cooking gas prices to less than KSh500 by June 2023.

During his speech at the re-launch of the Women Enterprise Fund on Thursday, March 2 at KICC, Nairobi, the president promised that the 8% Value Added Tax on liquefied petroleum gas would be removed; refilling the 6kg cooking gas cylinder would then cost KSh 500 or KSh 300 after the taxes are scrapped.

He also assured Kenyans that the government was keen to eliminate all cartels in the LPG sector. He said, “everybody who is filling gas will be registered and licensed by the government of Kenya”. He pointed out how the excessive use of firewood is detrimental to health and how the citizens are suffering from having to use firewood.

Speaking in another event on February 24th, during the launch of Taifa Gas at Dogo Kundu, the president talked about the detriment of firewood usage to the environment and it also reduces the number of trees as trees had to be cut down for firewood, he said every household will have cooking gas. To make cooking gas available, he tasked the Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir to ensure cooking gas is made available to Kenyan households at a subsidized price within three years. He reiterated by saying “you have the orders, and you know what you must do so that in three years, every household has a subsidized cooking gas, both in terms of cost of the cylinder, we want to see whether we can give the cylinder for free or charge a minimal fee.”

This will help cushion the cost of living for every citizen in Kenya, just as the States spokesperson pointed out when he said “President William Ruto has announced plans to remove all taxes on cooking gas in a bid to ensure access to all households at affordable rates and cushion Kenyans against the high costs of living.”