A 2kg pack of maize meal flour retails at about Kshs. 181 up from its average Ksh. 130 recorded a year ago. Cooking oil has now become a luxury to the many broke and struggling Kenyans as a litre goes for at least Ksh. 325 to as high as Ksh. 400 depending on the brand, up from Ksh. 210 in 2021.
Fuel according to an EPRA press release in October 2021 showed its published maximum pump prices in Eldoret at (in Ksh. /litre) 130.13 for super petrol and 111.32 for automotive diesel with kerosene at 104.27. And now, a year later (in Ksh. /litre), super petrol is 178.71, automotive at 163.72, and 147.67 for kerosene in Eldoret.
This year alone, most commodities have hit their all-time highest. With the most basic commodities being hit hardest forcing Kenyans to dig deeper into their pockets. Most of the commodities especially the basic ones have had an average increase of about 30% over one year. Therefore, 2022 prices relative to 2021 remain high.
Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS)
According to the statistics for October 2022 as released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) which measures the percentage change in prices of goods and services consumed by households, also known as the Consumer Price Index; there was a 9.6% increase within the last year alone.
This was contributed by the 15.8% increase in prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, 11.6% in transport and 7.1% contributed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels. These are the major contributors to the cost of living while other commodities like household items and household maintenance recorded a 10.9% increase.
The consumer price index for October 2022 therefore, stands at 127.86 as compared to October 2021’s 116.67.
Note: These are the statistics according to the KNBS October report.
Cost of living in Eldoret is estimated at Ksh. 53,845
Meanwhile, the current average cost of living in Eldoret is estimated at Ksh. 53,845 which is higher than its median salary after tax estimated at 50, 21, in hindsight is not enough to cover the living expenses, thus the monthly cost required to cover expenses such as food, housing, health care, education, clothing, and transportation for a household in Eldoret right now.
As much as Kenya was recovering from the pandemic in 2021, the Ukraine crisis according to the world bank economic report has contributed to the slower growth pace in 2022 not to mention the ongoing escalation in global commodity prices. The war has had a direct impact on fuels, fertilizer, and other imports hence the rise in costs. And now, due to the drought situation, Kenya is forced to invest in social spending to cushion households hit hardest.
Nevertheless, there seems to be hope at the end of the road. The world bank’s latest economic outlook has projected an easing in the inflation rate in 2023 to below the benchmark target, which is 7.5%. As long as we strive to increase economic activity, Kenya can always pick up.
Some food for thought, how livable do you think Kenya is, and Eldoret town in particular, given that the cost of living is directly linked to income?
