Tetu Member of Parliament Geoffrey Wandeto has raised anxiety about the Israel-Palestine conflict potentially impacting fuel prices.
He noted that the ongoing fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas could cause further spikes in oil prices.
This, according to him, is particularly worrying as fuel prices have already been surging in Kenya.
During an appearance on Citizen TV’s Daybreak show, Wandeto explained that the outcome of the conflict in the coming weeks could significantly pressure global oil production.
He emphasized that a prolonged Israel-Hamas conflict might drive oil prices beyond what Kenya can comfortably manage.
“We cannot downplay the new conflict between Israel and Palestine that has a significant impact on fuel prices,” he said.
Furthermore, Wandeto suggested that increasing exports could help alleviate Kenya’s dollar shortage, which has been affecting the country due to various factors, including a decline in exports.
He proposed the idea of exploring alternative settlement currencies for global trade and encouraging trading within East Africa using local currencies as a potential solution.
“This whole dollar thing is not just a Kenyan thing. I read that Japan, which is a very strong economy, has less than 20% or so devaluation of their currency. Almost all countries in the world are hurting because what is happening in America is that they are trying to cool their economy from inflation,” he said.
He added: “Now we are all victims of whatever goes on in America. When America coughs, the whole world catches a cold.”
Wandeto also pointed out that the global demand for oil products is increasing due to the rebound of the Chinese economy.
This, combined with fears that the Israel-Hamas conflict could spread to the petroleum-producing Gulf region, has led to rising oil price
