CS Kuria Plans To Install Cooking Oil Dispensers In Kenya
The CS explained that the move would help Kenyans in purchasing edible oil in quantities depending on their need in cooking their food
admin
Trade Cabinet Secretary (CS) Moses Kuria on Friday, July 14 announced that the government will set up cooking oil dispensers across the country.
Speaking during a meeting at State House between President William Ruto and Indonesian investors, the CS explained that the move would help Kenyans in purchasing edible oil in quantities depending on their need in cooking their food at home.
He lamented how the current packages of cooking oil, mostly sold in supermarkets, were beyond reach price-wise for most Kenyans, who resort to purchasing cooking oil resold by shopkeepers at cheaper prices.
Kuria indicated that the dispensed cooking oil would be called mama pima which would make the project resonate well with Kenyans and aim to crack down on exploitative cartels.
"We are in the process of shipping the dispensers which will be named mama pima and will be rolled out all over the country even within our informal settlements, we can be able to dispense edible oil in a way that is compatible with our people
"That will be the end of the cartels within that sector because we will have actually democratized the distribution space," Kuria announced.
However, the CS did not detail the price range at which the oil will be sold at. Timelines for the project implementation were also not revealed.
Viral Tea however observed that some informal settlements in Nairobi had introduced the automated cooking dispensers in some grocery shops.
One such shop which this writer paid a visit to had a cooking oil dispenser installed and was selling oil depending on someone's budget, with one getting the commodity for as low as Ksh10.
The dispensers operate similarly to the water and milk ATM machines across shops in the country where one keys in the amount they intend to spend on the cooking oil and the machine dispenses the product in line with the amount input.
One resident who spoke to Viral Tea hailed the effectiveness of the machines since they were demotivated by shopkeepers who measure the amount of cooking oil depending on how much one spent, sometimes getting a lower quantity than they paid for.
Meanwhile, President William Ruto announced plans to engage with Indonesian investors to improve palm oil farming in Kenya.
"Through the port of Mombasa, you can access Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda and Burundi. You have a market of 500 million people which can be reached through the port of Mombasa.
"We are keen on improving the port of Momabsa so as to promote investment in this area," he stated.
