Accused Oil Companies Speak; Rubbishes Raila’s claims on G to G oil deal.
Accused oil companies speak; In a joint statement, Gulf Energy, Galana Energies and Oryx Energies refuted claims that there was no memorandum of Understanding signed in the G-to-G oil deal.
They stated,“There is an MoU between the government of Kenya and the governments of the IOCs, also supported by long-existing bilateral trade relations between Kenya and these countries.”
Raila had accused The companies of overly increasing fuel costs. However, In their defence, They stated that fuel prices were determined by international factors and that there was a rise in global fuel prices that coincided with the start of the G-to-G supply.
The statement read,”The local cost of fuel is determined by international oil prices, the prevailing forex rate and applicable taxes. The global oil prices have been steadily rising due to the global post-COVID recovery in demand, and certainly more with the geopolitical challenges over the last 18 months,”
“It is noteworthy that the world prices have been rising from Quarter 2 of 2023 which coincided with the start of the G-to-G supply,” they added.
They further rubbished claims that the government had exempted them from paying the 30 per cent corporate tax, clarifying that just like all other organisations, they have been paying all relevant taxes.
The statement read,“There is no exemption from payment of any tax (no tax exemption has been sought by the nominated OMCs, nor has the GoK offered any). The Kenyan companies involved in the G-to-G supply pay their corporate taxes, and all other taxes like any other organization.”
On his part, President Ruto stated that the government is not broker and the G to G deal is not a scam.
He stated,”The purpose of the government is twofold; to guarantee international oil companies that they can extend products to Kenya for six months and that after six months we are going to pay and we have kept our part of the bargain,”
“We also gave them the guarantee that dollars will be available to them and we have made sure that is the case. The rest is private business. The State is not a broker or an in-between so the entire process is private sector-led,” he added.
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