PRICE OF COOKING GAS REDUCED IN RUTO’S FIRST BUDGET

When presenting the Kenya Kwanza budget, Treasury CS Ndungu made a point of mentioning that the high cost of cooking gas is a major factor in the high cost of life as a whole.

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) with a zero-rate is now the subject of proposed revisions to the VAT Act 2013 (2013 Act).

Treasury CS Njuguna Ndungu emphasized during the presentation of the 2023–24 budget to Parliament that in addition to encouraging the use of cooking gas, this move will also aid in increasing Kenya’s forest cover by decreasing the reliance on firewood as a fuel source.

“The high cost of liquefied petroleum gas contributes to the rising cost of living and the continued use of firewood and charcoal, which negatively affects our forest cover,” said Ndungu. I suggest that the national assembly zero-rate the VAT on LPG in order to increase LPG’s accessibility, promote its use, and promote the adoption of cleaner energy sources.

The current average price of Sh1,450 for a 6kg cylinder barrel of cooking gas is projected to drop dramatically if this plan is accepted.

The government’s proposal to reduce the cost of gas cylinders to either Sh300 or Sh500 by June 2023 is in line with the move made by President William Ruto on March 2. Achieving this objective in the near future, however, would not be possible, the President said on May 15.

Ndungu omitted to mention it, but Ruto clarified that the plan’s approval will be accounted for in the budget for 2023–24.

“To start, we need budget permission. Until a new budget has been approved, we cannot at this time forgive the tax. At a media roundtable held at State House in Nairobi, Ruto stated that meeting the June 1 deadline would be impossible unless it was approved by Parliament.

He emphasized further, saying, “June would have been doable if we had included it in the additional budget. Due to the fact that it would necessitate changing several laws, we tried to do so but ran into difficulties.