KIGALI - Government has cut import taxes on fuel products to keep fuel prices in the country stable despite the product’s high prices in Kenya, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (Minicom) revealed yesterday.

The decision came days after Rwanda hads suffered  fuel shortages since last Wednesday, close to a month after government had announced a fall in fuel prices by about 13.6 per cent.  Both petrol and diesel pump prices have been at Rwf 756 a litre.

In a telephone interview with The New Times last evening, Albert Bizimana, the Minicom’s Communications and Public Relations Officer, said that government reduced taxes for fuel importers to enable them cope with prices.

"Government waived their taxes in Rwanda and they have accepted to resume importing fuel products. They have already sent their trucks to Kenya,” he said.

Government officials said last week that dealers had difficulties in importing the fuel due to the hiked prices and supply in small quantity in the Kenyan town of Eldoret.

MINICOM Permanent Secretary, Antoine Ruvebana, said last week that Kenya did not reduce fuel prices when they went down on the world market last month because of maintenance of its pipelines from Mombasa to Eldoret and transport difficulties due to attacks from Somali pirates in the Indian Ocean.

Bizimana said that reducing taxes on imported fuel was the government’s short term strategy to enable dealers to continue supplying the products.

He said that problems in Kenya were expected to be resolved by the end of January next year and government would hold further talks with fuel providers.

"It is just a crisis that is expected to last for two months. Kenya will, in any case, have to reduce fuel prices after January next year,” he said.

Fuel prices have so far remained at Rwf 756 despite last week’s speculations that they were going to hike and last week the government had to draw 1,000,000 litres of fuel from its reserves to help quell fuel shortage.

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