Ten demands have been outlined by opposition leader Raila Odinga in the wake of the purported oil deal between Saudi Arabia and Kenya.
The leader of the ODM Party asserted on Thursday that, contrary to what President William Ruto stated in April of this year, Kenya had not signed any agreements with the Saudi Arabian government.
As a result, Raila has made ten demands that the President and his administration ought to abide by.
In order to guarantee a supply of petroleum products, the former prime minister wants President Ruto to immediately revoke the contract and switch back to the Open Tender System.
He maintained that the open tender system provided prices in line with an international pricing model and was effective, transparent, and competitive.
In order to find out how Kenya entered the purported oil deal with Saudi Arabia, Raila has called on the EACC to conduct an investigation.
“The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission needs to move in not to sanitize but to get to the bottom of how and why we got into this deal and who is benefiting from it,” he stated.
The leader of the ODM party has further demanded that the so-called Memorandum of Understanding between Kenya, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates be made public by Ruto’s administration.
The principal of Azimio also requests that the Kenya Kwanza government provide a thorough overview of the implications of Uganda’s decision to pursue a large portion of its petroleum needs through the Tanzanian Central Corridor, particularly with regard to the Kenya Pipeline Company’s future.
Uganda selected Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam port as its entry point for oil imports earlier this week.
The goal of this action was to strengthen ties between the two East African nations.
This action also came before Uganda decided to stop importing oil from Kenya.
Raila goes on to demand the firing of those responsible for coming up with the Kenya-Saudi Arabia agreement.
Speaking to the Energy Ministry under Davis Chirchir, the Chief of the Opposition demands that the agreement it made with the oil companies be made public.
“Also, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum must make public the Supplier Purchase Agreement signed with the oil companies,” Raila stated.
The three oil companies’ pricing model and tax compliance status have been referred to Kenya’s investigative agencies, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the East Africa Community College (EACC).
Furthermore, Raila has approached the Kenya Revenue Authority, the tax authorities, to inquire about the three oil companies’ tax compliance status.
“KRA should also explain why they are being enabled to evade billions in taxes while ordinary Kenyans are being harassed for taxes,” he stated.
Last but not least, the leader of the opposition demands that taxes be reduced from the 16 percent introduced by the Finance Act to 8 percent.
After a majority of Parliamentarians approved the controversial proposal in the Finance Bill, 2023 to raise the Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel from the current 8% to 16%, Kenyans have been experiencing difficult economic times.
184 MPs voted in favor of the increase in VAT to 16 percent against 84 who opposed the amendment, setting the stage for what could see fuel costs rise by more than Sh10 following a contentious debate in the House that saw MPs from Kenya Kwanza and Azimio lock horns.
The opposition MPs from Azimio mainly opposed the plan to raise the fuel VAT to 16 percent, claiming that the increase would have a negative impact on living expenses.
On the other hand, the Finance Bill, 2023 was approved by President William Ruto and is presently being implemented.