The decision by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) to retain current petrol prices and reduce the cost of kerosene will come as a relief to many consumers who are hurting from the reduction of their purchasing power.
Of course, the public would have better appreciated a reduction all around to ease pressure on incomes and this is an option the government must explore going forward given that fuel prices have a ripple effect on the cost of a host of goods and services, beginning with transport.
Again, cushioning poor families, who mostly use kerosene for cooking and lighting, will offer them slight relief as the country prepares for Christmas festivities, during which spending goes up. That means there is much more that the government ought to do to ease the pressure caused by high prices on family incomes, welfare and capacity to meet their existential needs, particularly food and clothing, which are expected to consume larger proportions of incomes during the festive season.
It is also noteworthy that the Minority coalition, Azimio, had warned that failure to address the cost of living would make or break the ongoing bipartisan talks aimed at ensuring that the country remains on the right trajectory politically and economically.
Though not enough, the move by EPRA is a signal that there is willingness to address the challenges paused by the steep cost of goods and services.
The challenge, going forward, is to address the raft of economic fundamentals that are conspiring to keep the costs of goods and services high given that inflation, as a rule, is a political powder keg and a recipe for popular protests.
Besides the interventions that regulators like EPRA have taken to tame costs, there is also need for the government to communicate clearly the expected outcomes of the interventions to ensure the public is shielded from proliferation of mis-information and dis-information about the state of the economy.
The government and its agencies must do everything in their power to ensure the country does not sink into mass despondency, a real and present danger given the conversations going on social media with regard to inflation and taxation.
by pd.co.ke