Kenya’s year-on-year inflation rate surged to 4.4% in August from 4.3% in July, according to data released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) on Friday. The inflation was primarily driven by the year-on-year surge in prices of commodities in three main categories: Transport, Food, Non-alcoholic beverages, and Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.
Kenyans continue to feel the impact of inflation mostly on food and non-alcoholic beverages, whose prices rose by 5.3% on a year-on-year basis. In the same period, the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels increased by 4.2% while the transport year-on-year index surged by 39%.
The overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) dropped to 139.87 in August 2024 from 139.94 in July, representing a slight drop in monthly inflation.
On a month-on-month basis, the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages Index dropped by 0.7% between July and August this year. Particularly, Kenyans paid less for tomatoes, onion, kale, and spinach in July than in August. However, the prices of mangoes, oranges, and potatoes decreased by 2.6%, 3.2%, and 7.1% during the same period.
KNBS attributed the month-on-month increase in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other fuels index to the surge in the cost of electricity. The prices of 50 kWh and 200 kWh of electricity increased by 1.8% and 1.6% between July and August.
However, the latest rate falls below the national target of 5%.
The cost of living in Kenya has shot up over the past few years, as a result of domestic and external factors. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of the country’s largest creditors, continually put the government under pressure to raise more revenue. As a result, the government hikes taxes on household goods.
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The Finance Bill 2024 was expected to boost revenue collection through additional taxes on certain food items, and financial services. The unpopular bill triggered one of the biggest youth-led protests in the country’s history.
