In a notice to the Ministry of Treasury, President William Ruto on Friday, February 24, stated that he will soon remove all taxes on Liquefied Petroleum (LPG) gas. 

While speaking in Dongo Kundu, the Head of State explained that the Kenya Kwanza Government is working on an ambitious program to ensure that local cooking gas is made affordable. 

"In the next three years, all Kenyan houses will have cooking gas which is way affordable," President Ruto promised. 

"We are going to remove all taxes that are currently being levied on cooking gas so that we can make sure that every household in the Republic of Kenya has access to affordable LPG and we eliminate the wood fuel," Ruto stated. 

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At the same time, Ruto ordered top managers at the Kenya Pipeline Company Limited (KPC) to expand local terminal storage capacity of LPG gas to make it available countrywide. 

While launching the construction of the Taifa Gas LPG terminal in Mombasa, the President asked KPC top managers to increase capacity that will provide reservoirs for cheaper LPG gas from Tanzania. 

The project that is aimed at lowering the cost of cooking gas in Kenya will see an increase in capacity from 30,000 tonnes to 45,000 tonnes of LPG gas. 

"I have ordered these officials to ensure that we have enough local capacity to store and process this gas in order to save our mothers from dangerous biomass cooking," Ruto noted. 

The President explained that he expects government institutions, including secondary schools, to transit from biomass to LPG gas. 

"By 2025, we expect all our schools and other institutions to have put in place mechanisms that ensure a modern way of cooking by cooking gas," Ruto further directed. 

Taifa Gas is Tanzania’s largest LPG supply company in East Africa, with Kenya being one of its largest markets, yet the LPL was all along being transported by road. 

Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) data shows that Kenya imported 240,000 tons of LPG in 2022, up from 180,000 tons in 2021.

ERC data also indicates that, while many consumers have been put off by the high cost, LPG demand has been steadily increasing as more households switch from charcoal, firewood and kerosene to gas.

File photo of Gas Cylinders on display at an outlet in Nairobi City

FILE