By Peter Ochieng

The cost of life is expected to sharply rise, following an increase in fuel prices.

According to the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), the prices of petrol, diesel and paraffin have increased by at least Sh20.

As such, a litre of petrol will retail at Sh179.30, diesel at Sh165 and Kerosene at Sh147.94.

In August, a litre of petrol retailed at Sh159.12, diesel Sh140 and kerosene Sh127.94.

The new prices are a result of President William Ruto’s administration fully and partially doing away with the fuel subsidy which previously cushioned Kenyans from higher prices, during former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s reign.

The subsidy has been done away with on petrol, while partially being retained on kerosene and diesel.

Speaking during his swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday at the Moi Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi, Ruto said the fuel subsidies had proved costly for the government to sustain.

“If the subsidy continues to the end of the financial year, it will cost taxpayers Sh280 billion, equivalent to the entire national government development budget,” said the fifth President.

“In addition to being very costly, consumption subsidy interventions are prone to abuse, distort markets and create uncertainty including artificial shortages of the very products they seek to subsidize.”

Ruto said the subsidy interventions have failed to work as Kenyans continue to be confronted with high food and fuel prices.

The new fuel prices will be in place until another review is done in mid-October.