a week early, with some changes
Tracking prices of some urban commodities compared to six months ago and a year ago
Fuel: Litre of petrol fuel (at local petrol station) is Kshs. 101.50 ~ $1.50 (up 15.3% in ½ year)
6 months ago: Kshs. 87.99, Year ago: Kshs. 80.79
despite record world oil prices, government joint tender system has cushioned some impact on the economy – even oil companies are not celebrating
Staple food: Maize flour (2 kg. Unga pack at Uchumi) is Kshs. 73 (up 40% in ½ year)
6 months ago Kshs. 52, Year ago Kshs. 50
farming woes continue, poor crop expected this year
Other food item: Sugar (2 kg. Mumias pack) at Uchumi is Kshs. 145 (down 3% in ½ year)
6 months ago: Kshs. 150, Year ago Kshs. 150 Kshs
new minister trying to clean up notorious sector
Entertainment: Bottle of Tusker beer (at local pub) is Kshs. 130 (up 8.3% in ½ year)
6 months ago; Kshs. 120, Year ago: Kshs. 100
agricultural input costs rising, but post-budget sin tax pushed prices up. You need this to network in Kenya, or switch to Alvaro?
Communications: mobile phone promotion
This month Safaricom has Ongea tariff which has phone calls priced Kshs. 10 per minute all day, while Celtel has a Kshs. 3 per minute tariff (and with a conditional ‘free’ call package thrown in). Safaricom is also promoting broadband hotspots for the entire Nairobi and Mombasa areas.
- Six months go: Safaricom had extended the hours for Kshs. 8 calls on Saasa tariff, while Celtel had Kshs. 4 per minute calls to 3 preferred numbers
- A year ago Safaricom had Super Tariffic tariff which has calls 38% cheaper and SMS 30% cheaper than the previous tariff
mobile communications one of the few things that are getting cheaper
Exchange rate
1 US$ equals Kshs. 67.4 (shilling has appreciated 4.7% in ½ year)
6 months ago: 70.7, Year ago: 66.5
strong , but now sliding, shilling has cushioned some impact of high oil prices, but exporters are complaining
Electricity cost
New addition
My electricity bill in July 2008 is Kshs. 1,860
A year ago was Kshs. 995
Consumption was the same, the culprit was fuel costs adjustment which added Kshs. 820(649c/kwh) to my bill compared to Kshs. 200 shillings (170c/kwh) a year ago as KPLC recently increased the electricity charges which could have some adverse effect on the economy later in the year – already big manufacturers are investing in power plants and alternative generation sources.
