Cooking gas VAT risks making Kenya’s disease burden worse

Monday, June 22, 2020 0:01

By WANJIKU MANYARA |

A majority of Kenyans still cook using firewood, charcoal, dung and kerosene, which release a deadly cocktail of smokes associated with respiratory problems.

FILE PHOTO | NMG

Widely available scientific evidence indicate that cooking with firewood, charcoal and any other smoke-emitting household fuel causes non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and death.

Imposing VAT on cooking gas will adversely impact Kenya’s aspired socio-economic transformation considering the positive impact of LPG on human health, environment conservation, local manufacturing and food security.

The report of the government’s Kenya Household Cooking Sector Study, launched at the Clean Cooking Forum in November 2019, indicates that the aforementioned respiratory diseases are killing 21,650 Kenyans annually.

The government policy of promoting the use LPG as the primary household cooking fuel and target of complete access to clean household cooking by 2028 can only be achieved by preserving the fiscal incentives and retaining a conducive investment environment.

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