Ichung'wah agrees with Raila on carpooling

By Peter Ochieng

National Assembly leader of Majority Francis Kimani Ichung'wah has agreed with Azimio leader Raila Odinga, for once.

On Tuesday, at Kamukunji grounds in Nairobi, Odinga called on his supporters to carpool, cut on unnecessary travel and walk to work, in a bid to escape from the high cost of fuel.

Fuel prices are set to rise by at least Sh10 per litre, after president William Ruto on Monday signed the finance bill, 2023 into law.

The act which takes effect on 1st July, 2023 contains a clause on increasing Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products from the current 8 to 16 per cent.

Ichung'wah who doubles up as Kikuyu Member of Parliament (MP) in a statement supported Odinga's call for carpooling.

"Car pooling is a good idea," he wrote.

"Reduced fuel demand also exerts less pressure on the national imports bill of which fuel is a major component and could further stabilise the shilling against the dollar. A stronger shilling is good for the economy," the third term MP said.

"I like this conversation. Clearly the conversation has changer indeed," he added.

Carpooling refers to a group of people travelling together work or school in a car, normally taking turns to drive.