Nairobi — A new law proposing price control for essential household good will empower government to determine wholesale and retail prices, upsetting the preveiling market-driven pricing mechanism.
The law will provide for price control for goods including maize, maize flour, wheat wheat flour, rice, cooking fat or oil, sugar and prescribed pharmaceutical drugs.
The Bill sponsored by Nominated Senator Tabitha Mutinda intends to stabilize prices in the market and cushion Kenyans from exploitation.
The Price Control (Essential Goods) (Amendment) Bill, 2024, gives the government the authority to set retail and wholesale prices for key commodities.
"The (National Treasury) Cabinet Secretary shall, by order in the Gazette fix the minimum and the maximum retail and wholesale prices for the essential goods," the Bill obtained by Capila News on Wednesday reads.
The nominated cited stabilization of prices of essential goods as key to ensuring affordability of essential commodities and ensure the cost of living remains manageable for the public.
The Bill set to introduced before Senate for the first reading provides that the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary may introduce any other goods deemed to be essential commodities in a gazette notice.
The Cabinet Secretary will also determine the minimum and maximum prices of the commodities in consultation with the industry.
"This Bill seeks to amend the Price Control (Essential Goods) Act, 2011 to regulate the prices of essential commodities in order to secure their availability at reasonable prices for all Kenyans, especially the low-income earners," the Bill reads in part.
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The National Treasury will also consider the significance of the particular essential goods in ensuring economic development and consumer purchasing power.
The Bill states that the CS shall have regard to the minimum possible restrictions on competition, normal market conditions and severe disturbances on the market that justifiably lead to fluctuation of prices.
"The enactment of this law will also ensure that Kenyans are protected from exploitative and unscrupulous businesspersons," the Bill reads.
Further, it seeks to cure the perennial concerns of monopolies and oligopolies from exploiting their market position to artificially inflate prices and take advantage of consumers' due to lack of alternatives.
"The object of this Act is to guarantee access to crucial goods during times of crisis such as natural disasters or public health emergencies," it states.
This story erroneously named Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja as the sponsor of the Bill. An updated version idetifying the Nominated Senator Tabitha Mutinda as the sponsor of the Bill has uploaded in its place.
