President Ruto clarifies promise to lower price of LPG gas cylinders to Sh500

President William Ruto was forced to clarify why it will take longer for Kenyans to enjoy LPG gas tax incentives announced earlier in 2023.

While speaking during an interview with journalists at State House on Sunday, May 14, President Ruto said that the tax incentives were pushed from the 2022/23 supplementary budget to the 2023/24 budget.

He said that the price of LPG gas would drop after the National Assembly passes the budget policy statement for the 2023/24 financial year.

"If we had succeeded to have that in the supplementary budget, then that would have happened from June 1,'' Ruto explained.

President William Ruto during the joint media interview President William Ruto during the joint media interview Pulse Live Kenya

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof. Njuguna Ndung'u is set to present the 2023/24 Budget Statement to Parliament on Thursday, June 8.

President Ruto also clarified that the price of gas cylinders would fall to about Sh500 and not the price of gas.

Speaking during the launch of Women Enterprise Fund on Thursday, March 2, the head of state stated that it is time for the government to tame crooks selling harmful products to Kenyans.

"Ili tupunguze gharama ya gas, lazima tupunguze ushuru. Ile mtungi mnanunua kuanzia mwezi wa sita hiyo mtungi itatoka Sh2,800 mpaka Sh500 au Sh300.

"[In order to reduce the cost of gas, we must reduce taxes. The gas cylinder you're using will cost between 500 and 300 from June]," Ruto stated.

A cooker using LPG gas A cooker using LPG gas Pulse Live Kenya

LPG Gas exempted from Taxes

The Finance Bill 2023 proposes to exempt Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) from Railway Development Levy (RDL) and Import Declaration Fees (IDF), which will reduce the cost of LPG and promote its use instead of biomass fuel that destroys forests.

This move is expected to benefit millions of Kenyans who use LPG for cooking.

The price of LPG has been increasing steadily over the years, making it unaffordable for low-income households.