Economics
Living Costs or Legacy? Kenyan Fuel Tax a Dilemma for Leader
- 16% levy on oil products spurred strike, inflation warning
- President needs to fund infrastructure plans in final term
A gas station in Nairobi, Kenya
Photographer: Luis Tato/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta faces a hard decision with a new fuel tax: approve it and boost living costs, or rescind it and risk undermining infrastructure plans that are key to his legacy.
Introduced on Sept. 1 against parliament’s wishes and in the absence of Kenyatta assenting to a bill that proposes postponing it for two years, the 16 percent levy has already provoked public outrage. Fuel traders went on strike, public-transport workers blockaded key roads and motorists rushed to fill up at gas stations across the East African nation.