By Bedah Mengo
When fuel prices started to drop in Kenya three months ago, following a decline in the global market, Kenyans celebrated knowing that the drop heralded good times. 
They knew commodity prices would plummet, as East African nation economy is fuel driven, and cost of transport falls to reasonable level.
However, while petrol is currently being sold at 0.93 U.S. dollars a litre, a drop of 0.09 dollars from previous month, diesel at 0.84 dollars, a decline of 0.14 dollars and kerosene at 0.58 dollars, down from 0.6 dollars, commodity prices have not come down and cost of fare remains unchanged.
Manufacturers and transporters are, thus, making a killing as ordinary Kenyans struggle.
But the biggest downside of the low fuel prices, particularly in East African nation’s capital, is increased traffic jams.
Kenyans in Nairobi are spending twice as much time as they used to spend in traffic snarl-ups before fuel prices went down.
And all this has to do with the low cost of diesel and petrol. Apparently, the drop in prices has encouraged many Kenyan motorists who ordinarily do not use their private cars to go to work, for instance, put them back on the road.
The result is that heavy traffic jams are back in the capital Nairobi, making commuters and motorists spend up to three hours in the snarl-ups particularly during morning and evening peak hours.
All major roads leading to and out of the city centre like Mombasa Road, Langata Road, Thika Road, Jogoo Road and Waiyaka Way, are affected by the massive traffic jams.
The roads become parking yards for vehicles during the morning and evenings peak hours, with police seemingly unable to control traffic flow.
“The drop in petrol and diesel prices has become a curse. It has made my expenses on transport go up instead of coming down and this is because of the traffic jams,” David Mwigi lamented on Thursday.
Mwigi, who works with a telecommunication firm in Nairobi, commutes every day from Kitengela, a suburb on the outskirts of the capital to the city centre.
“Before the cost of fuel dropped to the current level, I would pay between 0.88 dollars and 1.1 dollars to and from the city centre. Now I spend nearly double the amount,” he said.
Mwigi recounted traffic jams in the morning on Mombasa Road start as far as 20 km away from the city centre. This, thus, means to arrive at his work place early, he has to board a train.
“I normally pay the 1.1 dollars from Kitengela, which is the full fare but I alight at Syokimau Train Station to board a train to city centre at 0.66 dollars so that I can arrive at work on time,” he recounted, noting that he wishes fuel prices slightly go up to reduce the “mess” on city roads.
Also wishing fuel prices to go up is city resident Judy Boke, who lives along the Thika superhighway.
Fares have not only gone up on the route especially during peak hours, but Boke is also wasting up to an hour in traffic jams every day as she further grapples with high commodity prices that do not tally with the flow fuel prices.
Data from Kenya Motor Industry Association indicates that Kenyans bought 17,500 cars last year, up from 14,542 in 2013.
Mwigi and Boke’s wishes for fuel prices to go up may be granted this month. Energy Regulatory Authority (ERA) last month while reviewing fuel prices warned Kenyans that cost of the commodity may go up this month.
“The global prices appear to be stabilising. In fact in some places, the fuel prices have taken an upward trend so we don’t expect a further drop,” said ERA director Joseph Ng’ang’a. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
