The government has accused the chief executive officer of oil marketer Rubis Energy of being behind the ongoing fuel shortage in the country. With this accusation, the government has ordered that the CEO, Jean Christian Bergeron, be deported from Kenya to France.
Rubis Energy has been on the spotlight for being associated with the Kenyatta Family who are alleged to be prominent shareholders in the business.
The deportation order came after the State Directorate of Immigration revoked Bergeron’s work permit over what was termed as ‘economic sabotage’.
There has been an acute shortage of fuel in the country after the government failed to pay oil marketers their subsidy in good time, forcing a majority of them to prefer selling their fuel outside the country where they are paid in time.
Although the subsidy funds were released last week, oil marketers have shown distrust for the government. According to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra), leading oil majors increased their fuel exports to neighbouring countries.
The government says it owes the oil companies Sh. 13 billion and on April 4 released Sh. 8.2 billion to the dealers who claim to be owed more than Sh. 20 billion.
The real reason why there’s fuel shortage in Kenya
Rubis controls 8.6 percent of the local market, making it the third biggest marketer after Total Energies and Vivo Energies. The sister company to Rubis, Gulf Energy controls 2.7 percent of the market.
Through the subsidy, the national treasury has been demanding that oil marketers sell their fuel at a loss. This loss is then supposed to be compensated by the government through the fuel subsidy.
However, the government has been failing to pay up, leaving oil marketers exposed to selling their fuel at a loss without any forthcoming compensation.
