Matatu fare hike-PNU ploy?

[JAHAATWACH]

Matatu fares hiked.
Written By:Bev Gatimu , Posted: Sun, Nov 11, 2007

Commuters in Nairobi and its environs will from Monday 12th November, pay 10 more shillings for transport fares.

Commuter transport operators increased the fares Saturday saying the move was as a result of the recent increase in the price of imported petroleum products.

In a statement they said the price of crude oil had risen to 6,300 shillings per barrel, prompting them to increase the fares.

The new fares will range between 20 shillings and 50 shillings depending on the routes plied by the public transport vehicles.

The statement was signed by Charles Kiptoo of Kenya Bus services, Njogu Gachagua of Citti Hopper, Simon Kimutai of the Matatu Owners Association and Ephraim Ngunjiri of Express connections.

[JAHAATWACH]

Why now?

[Onyango Oloo]

Jahatwach:

I think you have gone into some conspiracy theory overdrive regarding this.

If you live in Nairobi and use Matatus as I do, you would know that there are price hikes ALL THE TIME in Nairobi.

When it rains, the fare increases; when there is a jam the fare increases; when there is a police crackdown on Matatus the fare increases- these are informal almost daily occurrences.

As it happens, I happen to know Simon Kimutai. He is an ex Airforce soldier who spent several years at Kamiti with some of us. I ran into him earlier this afternoon outside the Stanley hotel just as he was concluding a Kiswahili interview with KTN.

He explained to me that many of his members were on very dire straits because of the government sanctioned fuel price hikes.

Considering that the fares went up by only 10 shillings, I really do not think that it is really a big deal.

Besides, how would PNU benefit politically from price hikes?

If anything, if they were daft enough to do that, they would lose the support of all those working people who rely on matatus and buses for commuting.


Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya

[kamalet]

admin said:

As it happens, I happen to know Simon Kimutai. He is an ex Airforce soldier who spent several years at Kamiti with some of us. I ran into him earlier this afternoon outside the Stanley hotel just as he was concluding a Kiswahili interview with KTN.

He explained to me that many of his members were on very dire straits because of the government sanctioned fuel price hikes.



Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya

You had to sneek the comment that these are government sanctioned fuel hikes!! You know very well that the oil industry has been liberalised since the 90s (okay you were not in Kenya then and may not know!), and you surely know why the fuel hikes occur, unless of course you only read the political pages of newspapers and like some others are not interested in the business pages!

What happened to the ability to educate on some of these matters without seeking to make political capital out of anything?

[Onyango Oloo]

kamalet said:

You had to sneek the comment that these are government sanctioned fuel hikes!! You know very well that the oil industry has been liberalised since the 90s (okay you were not in Kenya then and may not know!), and you surely know why the fuel hikes occur, unless of course you only read the political pages of newspapers and like some others are not interested in the business pages!

What happened to the ability to educate on some of these matters without seeking to make political capital out of anything?

Good morning my fellow Nairobian.

You make me chuckle.

Did you overlook the fact that in this particular instance, I was actually going to bat for the PNU side?

Is it not a fact that precisely because the Kibaki regime endorsed the economic liberalization policies started by the Moi-KANU regime, that they are in fact sanctioning the fuel price hikes?

How many times has the Kenyan public implored Amos Kimunya, Kiraitu Murungi and other members of the Kibaki government to step in and save the wananchi from the excesses of the rapacious oil industry?

By the way Kamale, what is eating you these days?

You seem a little more irritable than usual.

Could it have anything to do with the parlous fortunes of the PNU candidate?

Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya

[kamalet]

Oloo,

Now you see what you are suggesting? A command and control economy whilst a liberalised economy has served this country well over the last few years. It does sound a bit socialistic (not sure what this means!) to want the government to reintroduce controls - especially when they will hurt the most vulnerable groups of our society. But even with price controls, should the government subsidise the price of fuel now that global prices are going through the roof?

Kamale is irritable and the fortunes or otherwise PNU are a probable cause? Seriously NO, and you will perhaps know that if this was laced with Kikuyus having a problem with a Raila presidency, then you are wrong! If you ask me, Kikuyus are against Raila for the sake of other Kenyans rather than themselves! Surprised? If I do get time, I will write to show you how Raila is dependent on the Kikuyus to meet his ambitions!

[JAHAATWACH]

Considering that the fares went up by only 10 shillings, I really do not think that it is really a big deal.

Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya

Oloo, I thought you were pro-poor.
Calculate the cost of living in Nairobi with majority below poverty line,factor in the inflation and what wanjiku,nekesa and ojuogi in Buru-buru phase six(kiambiu) spent on unga,paraffin,mboga,mandazi,sukari, cooking fat,rent and you understand what I mean.The hike of fares will spread across the country and you know what that means especially in festive season. The fare hikes is anti-poor and I read too much in failure by PNU(Kibaki) to protect the poor when the rich capitalist hike the fares at will.

[roughrider]

Somebody is talking at cross purposes with the minister he supports. Kimunya has variously indicated that the price increases by local dealers are often high and unjustified. A small change in say ADNOC barrel prices results in immediate and disproportionate increases locally.

He has threatened to use his 'power' to protect consumers. We are still waiting.

That said, I think the government has behaved irresponsibly in this saga. It has allowed infrastructure that delivers oil to remain dilapidated and prohibitively expensive. It has pursued policies that maintain oligopoly with its attendant dangers: collusion and cartel-like behaviour in the oil market (kamale, learn some basic economics, the oil industry is NOT a free market), it has, perhaps unwittingly continued to encourage crippling reliance on petroleum, it has failed to secure cheaper deals with oil producing Africanb countries etc.... these among myriad of issues in this sector point to incompetence.

kenyans will continue suffer until 27th December. Then things will begin to change.

[aeichener]

admin said:

Is it not a fact that precisely because the Kibaki regime endorsed the economic liberalization policies started by the Moi-KANU regime, that they are in fact sanctioning the fuel price hikes?

No, that is not a fact.

However, the policies of "liberalization" in reality often translated into a wholesale sanctioning of plundering; and numerous of the ongoing "privatizations" are exactly that, as Osiris has frequently demonstrated and argued.
And after the KTDA "liberalizations", Kenyan smallholder teagrowers are exactly in the same way and with the very same devices and instruments chained and fettered to their lord KTDA, as Latin American peons were chained in perpetuating serfdom to their hacienderos.
Unlike a number of formally pseudo-educated Jukwaaites, the real Kenyan wananchi on the ground however do not enjoy serfdom and slavery, like a sow her mire. They want to get rid of it, they do not wish for it.

Back to privatization: would anyone twenty years ago have believed that in the 21st Century, the African Natives (TM) would sell out railway concessions (!!) to foreigners, like in the China of the Warlords and in 19th-century South America?!

It boggles the mind.

Alexander

[roughrider]

aeichener said:

Back to privatization: would anyone twenty years ago have believed that in the 21st Century, the African Natives (TM) would sell out railway concessions (!!) to foreigners, like in the China of the Warlords and in 19th-century South America?!

It boggles the mind.

Alexander

Or Leopold the seconds private colonialism again. True the Railways deal boggles the mind.

One would have thought, that at the very minimum, we coulds at least run our own railways system. But perhaps that is expecting too much.

[nereah]

what has PNU to do with matatu hikes? So whats your take on the recent salary hikes for civil servants? eh?//

[enigma]

Nov 12, 2007 23:17:11 GMT 3 Onyango Oloo said:

Jahatwach:

I think you have gone into some conspiracy theory overdrive regarding this.

If you live in Nairobi and use Matatus as I do, you would know that there are price hikes ALL THE TIME in Nairobi.

When it rains, the fare increases; when there is a jam the fare increases; when there is a police crackdown on Matatus the fare increases- these are informal almost daily occurrences.

As it happens, I happen to know Simon Kimutai. He is an ex Airforce soldier who spent several years at Kamiti with some of us. I ran into him earlier this afternoon outside the Stanley hotel just as he was concluding a Kiswahili interview with KTN.

He explained to me that many of his members were on very dire straits because of the government sanctioned fuel price hikes.

Considering that the fares went up by only 10 shillings, I really do not think that it is really a big deal.

Besides, how would PNU benefit politically from price hikes?

If anything, if they were daft enough to do that, they would lose the support of all those working people who rely on matatus and buses for commuting.


Onyango Oloo
Nairobi, Kenya

OO,

I dont think the increases in this particular instance are justified. If petrol prices increase by 2 shillings a liter, commuters are asked to pay an extra 10 shillings each. What arithmetics (not economics) is that? Kimutai and co have no soul.