In these enduring harsh economic times, most Kenyans continue to feel the sting of being the ‘have-nots’.
So much so that a recently released survey by TIFA shows over 50 per cent of Kenyans are conscious of the high cost of the basic staple unga(flour), and other basic commodities like sugar and cooking oil since President William Ruto took over.
This makes up over half of both Ruto’s opponents and supporters who banked on his litany of promises to be redeemed from the debilitating high cost of living.
The survey further shows 34 per cent of Kenyans are aware of the cost of petroleum products and 25% have noticed the price increase of cooking oil.
“Among commodities, most Kenyans consume/use, they are most aware of price increases for unga, sugar and petroleum products since the Ruto government assumed office(61%, 51%, and 34%, respectively),” the poll shows.
A staggering 78 per cent of Kenyans say they cannot identify any products whose prices have decreased since the August 9 polls and only 7 per cent say they do not know any commodity whose price has been constant.
“Only a handful of Kenyans are unaware of any products whose prices have not risen (7%). By contrast, more than three-quarters cannot identify any products whose prices have decreased during this same period (78%).”
TIFA says the poll is a reflection of the country’s rate of inflation.
“Given that the country’s rate of inflation was above 9% during the latter part of last year and only just below that figure during the first half of 2023, this is not surprising.
“At the same time, it should be noted that the impact of the removal of some subsidies/increase in tax on some of the items mentioned as contained in the new Budget were not (yet) in effect during the period of the survey (the last week of June), especially all petroleum products, whose prices increased only 1 July.”
