Emergency Talks In Mombasa With Ruto End Matatu Strike But Is The Crisis Over?

 

Matatu industry stakeholders with
President Ruto a few hours ago: Negotiations
happened last evening in Mombasa.

NO Change In Fuel Prices BUT Matatu owners all smiles as President Issues Multiple Directives To Address Industry Issues: But Where does This Leave Commuters?

Matatu operators in withdrawing their strike notice (the ongoing strike was due to resume on Monday) have plunged the country into an even deeper crisis in waiting that shall surely rare its’ ugly head shortly.

The government has saved face and secured its’s daily revenue but where does that leave the vast majority of long suffering Kenyans sinking into despair since the April price review that saw petrol prices take a huge leap? And that was a month before the latest price hikes that have served to make life in Kenya for most totally unbearable.

What happens next is very predictable because public anger against the matatu operators had already started building up when in the last few days the operators very suddenly caved and called off the strike for a week to allow negotiations with the government to proceed. Only to permanently call off the strike this morning shortly after reports that some reports indicated they had been flown down to Mombasa first class to meet President Ruto.

Nobody at the Mombasa presser with the President talked about matatu fares and keeping them low. But commuters had already warned that after the bungled negotiations with government that did nothing to the prices, matatu owners should not dare think of increasing fares. So what happens now?

Amazingly the government still doesn’t get it. The big issue here is the inability of the economy to bear the current fuel prices. And even to bear the current fuel prices with a cut of Kshs 20. Let alone a mere Kshs 10 drop for optics and pressers. Because sadly optics do nothing to ease the huge financial burden Kenyans are currently finding totally unbearable.

And even more significant for the government, they are poor students of history because fuel price hikes have in the past done serious damage to many governments (some of them much better organized that this one). This is not optics as usual or selling the right narrative as usual. This is the Ruto regime playing with fire.

Also Watch YouTube video;

Will The Fuel Crisis Ultimately Force Ruto Out Of Power?

Read explosive article in this blog;

Why Ruto wanted to be president: All the wrong reasons that will shock you