{"id":138332,"date":"2026-04-20T07:03:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T07:03:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/ledama-tells-opposition-to-stop-blaming-ruto-for-everything-amid-fuel-price-debate\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T07:03:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T07:03:07","slug":"ledama-tells-opposition-to-stop-blaming-ruto-for-everything-amid-fuel-price-debate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/ledama-tells-opposition-to-stop-blaming-ruto-for-everything-amid-fuel-price-debate\/","title":{"rendered":"Ledama tells opposition to \u2018stop blaming Ruto for everything\u2019 amid fuel price debate"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 20 \u2014 Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina has called on opposition leaders to stop politicising fuel price discussions, arguing that the debate should focus on infrastructure financing realities rather than assigning blame to the government.<\/strong><\/p>\n

His remarks come amid renewed public debate over fuel costs and taxation in Kenya.<\/p>\n

Ole Kina said fuel pricing is closely linked to road development funding, cautioning that reducing levies without alternative revenue sources would slow infrastructure expansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it hurts a lot, but the truth is: Fuel isn\u2019t \u2018free money.\u2019 Cheaper fuel means less levy revenue for roads,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKenya has 164,967 kilometres of roads, with 15.1 percent paved (24,868 km). Uganda has 146,000 km, 4.4 percent paved (6,466 km), while Tanzania has 181,000 km, 8 percent paved (15,000 km). Kenya uses a fuel and roads levy, and cheaper fuel still means less road funding unless the gap is covered elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that policymakers and citizens must confront the trade-off between lower fuel taxes and sustained infrastructure growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe choice is simple: lower taxes and cheaper fuel with slower road development, or higher levies and stronger road expansion. The opposition should stop turning every fuel conversation into cheap politics and blaming Ruto for everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Middle-income <\/h2>\n

His comments come as President William Ruto continues to defend the country\u2019s fuel pricing structure, linking it to Kenya\u2019s economic classification and infrastructure ambitions.<\/p>\n

Speaking during a Sunday church service at the African Gospel Church in Karen, Nairobi, the President said Kenya\u2019s status as a middle-income economy places different financial demands on development compared to neighbouring countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cKenya is a middle-income country. Our neighbours are the least developed countries. There\u2019s a big difference. If you want to compare Kenya fairly with others, compare Kenya with other middle-income countries,\u201d Ruto said.<\/p>\n

He noted that fuel levies play a critical role in maintaining and expanding the country\u2019s road network, stating that Kenya currently maintains more than 20,000 kilometres of tarmac roads and is constructing an additional 6,000 kilometres.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 20,000 kilometres of tarmac to maintain here in Kenya is actually the same for the other six or seven East African countries if you combine Uganda, Tanzania, DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ruto urged citizens to view infrastructure development as a long-term investment requiring sustained funding.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 6,000 kilometres we are constructing at the moment in Kenya is equivalent to all the tarmac in our neighbouring countries built over decades. That\u2019s how transformation looks. Transformation is not about making peace with mediocrity,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The debate comes days after the President signed the VAT (Amendment) Act 2026 into law on April 17, temporarily reducing Value Added Tax on fuel from 16 percent to 8 percent for 90 days.<\/p>\n

The move is intended to ease pressure on consumers and stabilise fuel prices amid volatility in global oil markets.<\/p>\n

Government officials say the temporary tax cut will provide short-term relief to motorists, transport operators, and businesses reliant on petroleum products, while allowing policymakers time to assess global trends and consider longer-term interventions.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 20 \u2014 Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina has called on opposition leaders to stop politicising fuel price discussions, arguing that the debate should focus on infrastructure financing realities rather than assigning blame to the government. His remarks come amid renewed public debate over fuel costs and taxation in Kenya. Ole Kina said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}