The Interior ministry’s recent directive barring petroleum tankers from moving at night on Tuesday sparked off a row between the government and transporters that, if not resolved, could plunge the country into a serious fuel shortage crisis beginning this week.
Truck drivers on Tuesday went on strike demanding that the directive, which is linked to an old law that bars heavy trucks from moving at night, be withdrawn to enable them resume normal operations.
The clause, which is contained in the Energy (Licensing of Petroleum Road Transportation Business) regulations, 2013 kicked in on January 1, 2014, but has never been enforced.
It requires licensed fuel transporters to ensure that petroleum tankers are only driven between 6.30 am and 6.30 pm.
Energy secretary Charles Keter on Tuesday met the Kenya Independent Petroleum Distributors Association (Kipeda) and other petroleum sector players in a bid to resolve the crisis, but the meeting ended inconclusively with the stakeholders insisting on suspension of the law.
Reports indicated that some 40 million litres of fuel have been stuck at various petroleum depots over the past two days, following a go-slow by the distributors who were protesting against police harassment.
Mr Keter had a difficult time convincing the transporters to resume operations even as he promised to issue the distributors with letters protecting them from arrest and instead assured them of police escort to secure parking spots if found on the road after 6.30 pm.
“I am going to write a letter now and each one of you will have a copy stating that you will not be arrested but escorted by police to a nearby secure place should you be on the road after 6.30 pm,” Mr Keter said.
He also promised to meet his counterpart in charge of security, Joseph Nkaissery, “to inform him of the same so that business is not affected.”
The law barring trucks and trailers from moving in the night has been in existence for a long time, Mr Keter said, and is due for amendment to allow for smooth implementation.
He was addressing the distributors at the Nairobi Joint Depot in Industrial Area.
The Energy Regulatory Commission later sent a letter to Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet asking for orders assuring the distributors of police escort to the nearest area with safe parking if found on the road beyond the prescribed time.
No sanctions or penalties should be charged on such drivers, the letter said.
On Tuesday, the transporters claimed the directive had opened an avenue for police officers harass and extort money from them.
Mr Keter, Mr Nkaissery and petroleum industry stakeholders are expected to hold a meeting on the contentious law this morning to prevent it from stalling transport and economic activity in the country.
It remains unclear where the designated parking spaces for the tankers are. The law requires petroleum tankers to be parked in ‘designated parking areas where they exist or at least 100 meters from any building’ where designated parking does not exist.
Kipeda chairman Joseph Karanja, who had earlier insisted that Mr Keter’s letter reassures the drivers of their safety ‘before deciding whether and when to resume business’ later said the association would resist any attempt by the police to interferewith their business.
“For us, the ERC letter is as good as suspending the regulations, but should the police harass or stop any of our members then the strike will resume immediately. The police cannot abandon their duty to escort our trucks. That is not practical” Mr Karanja said.
ERC’s letter, however, does not suspend the regulation but instead requests Mr Boinnet to have police officers escort the trucks to safe parking grounds.
Empty tankers are, however, excused from the timeline restrictions. It remains to be seen whether there will be enough police offcers to escort the hundreds of trucks that ply the Northern Corridor road to secure places.
Changing the Energy Act may also prove unlikely in the near term because Parliament has only four months left before it dissolves in May ahead of the August 8 General Election.
Mr Keter fell short of promising a total overhaul of the law, saying Kenya was gearing for a 24-hour economy and limiting the tankers to certain timelines would be a setback to business.
“The police are there to protect us, not to harass citizens or take bribes. Even me I will retire and may later join you so I have to make it the best. We want to work on a 24-hour economy and that is why we are expanding electricity connections. I will give you a lasting solution within a week,” Mr Keter told the distributors and truck drivers.
