Published on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 at 21:07, official data showed that the cost of cooking gas had climbed to a 27-month high, reversing much of the relief consumers saw after VAT was removed from the fuel.
According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), the average price of refilling a 13-kg cylinder increased to Sh2,187 in September 2018, up from Sh2,170 in June and Sh2,073 in July last year.
The September figure was the highest recorded since June 2016, when the Treasury scrapped the 16 percent value added tax in an effort to lower costs and encourage more households to switch from kerosene and charcoal to cleaner cooking fuel.
At the time VAT was removed in 2016, the average refill price stood at Sh2,231 in June. It then fell to below Sh2,000 in October, about four months after the tax was scrapped.
KNBS said the upward movement had been steady since last August, tracking the rise in petroleum prices. The latest increase put gas back near the levels seen before the tax cut was introduced.
