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{
"id": 47674,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/47674/?format=api",
"text_counter": 217,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Mr. Magerer",
"speaker_title": "The Assistant Minister for Energy",
"speaker": {
"id": 51,
"legal_name": "Magerer Kiprono Langat",
"slug": "magerer-langat"
},
"content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, I think I have tried to explain that the determination of the prices is normally done by the ERC every 15th day of the month or thereabouts. When the Government announced subsidies, in my Statement I said that the Government subsidies have still not been factored in. That effectively means that we may not have been in a position, as a Government, to effect the subsidies immediately as announced by the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister. However, I have assured this House that come the next announcement of the prices, definitely, it will be factored in. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I was talking about the deliveries when the hon. Member asked for the schedule. I want to assure the hon. Member that we cannot do the business of storing more than what is required in our country. On the haulage, when we move oil, whether it is petrol, diesel or kerosene, we replace it and this system is self-regulating. That is why there is what we call âan Open Tender Systemâ (OTS) every month. This is done every day to determine who will import the fuel in the quantities that are required by the country for the next month. I think we are on schedule and there is no reason for the hon. Member to have any doubt because this Ministry has performed its duties before, very well. Dr. Nuh wanted to know why the National Oil Corporation (NOCK) and ERC â since I alluded in my Statement that they have not achieved the target that they were given in terms of regulating the prices â should not be disbanded. I think there are issues that the Ministry, together with the two agencies, has been addressing which may have resulted in them not being able to fulfill their mandate. For example, the NOCK is a Government parastatal which has very little funding. The Treasury has not funded the Corporation adequately to be able to perform its mandate. However, we must also appreciate the fact that when the NOCK was started, it had about six to seven petrol stations, but as we talk now, it is in excess of 65. I think within the period that it has been around, it has tried. As we move on, the Government and the Ministry will give it more support and the capability of the Corporation to perform its mandate will be done well. As for the ERC, its formula which was developed to be able to provide a guideline is definitely an issue that we are also re-looking at because the net effect of that formula increased the kerosene prices. I think the Ministry has recognized that fact before and, probably, the ERC is working on a formula that may not affect any of the fuel type adversely. If it is an increase, then all should increase, but others should not go down while others go up. I think that is something that the ERC is working on and we hope that they will live up to their mandate. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Mr. Namwamba asked again about the issue of tax measures, whether they will see the light of day. I have said before that these taxation measures, as hon. Members may know, have to be approved by this House. I want to believe that the Ministries concerned will work it out and seek the approval of the House. Mine is to request hon. Members that if the tax measures are brought to this House, let us support them, so that we can pass the benefits on to our people. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Eng. Maina was passionate on the cartels in the oil sector, particularly some oil marketers. I want to believe that if we have cartels, then it is our responsibility as a Ministry, to detect them and reign in on them because we are a regulator. However, as far as I am concerned, we also need to understand the technicalities that have happened before. The Minister for Energy, Mr. Murungi, has already convened a meeting with all the stakeholders in the oil industry; that is the oil marketers, the Ministry, the agencies and the consumers. I believe that that meeting came up with results that will help cushion everybody who is a player in the industry. I do not know that we have cartels in the industry. Mr. Speaker, Sir, Mr. Lessonet also asked about the backup measures. I toured the oil facilities in Mombasa as well as those in Nairobi and I discovered that there are a number of issues or measures that need to be taken. For example, if you look at the capacity in terms of the pipeline to pump the fuel in time, you will find that there is a capacity constraint. However, I am happy because the Ministry has already moved and, right now, we are constructing a 14-inch parallel pipeline from Nairobi to Eldoret to ease and mitigate on evacuation constraints that we have been having, especially on the western depots. There are also plans, of course, they have been said here before that we definitely need to improve on the service that is provided by the Kenya Petroleum Refinery Ltd. (KPRL). I visited the facility and I sympathize with the management of the KPRL because of the challenges that they face. However, I was happy because one of them was the provision of electricity, which affected the processing of oil leading to the production of less quality fuel and, therefore, more losses to the marketers. That situation is being rectified because currently, the KPRL is putting up an 8.5 megawatt generation station to supply its own electricity that will ensure that we have a constant supply of electricity and, therefore, reduce the losses in terms of the quality of fuel that is being produced at the moment."
}