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The pricing and marketing of petroleum products in sub-Saharan Africa have been undergoing fundamental change. Strict government control has been, and is being, replaced by liberalization. Oil multinationals have been allowed to pursue their own strategies in the import and retailing of petroleum products with profound consequences in: access and affordability for both urban and rural users; subsidies to ease the price burden in low income groups; taxation and state revenue; price fixing by multinationals; and in generating investment for expanding the rail network. These issues are examined in Kenya, where full liberalization has been achieved, and Ethiopia, where the transition from state control to liberalization has just begun. A comparative analysis of these two polar opposites yields insights into the policies and strategies needed for lasting benefits from the liberalization imperative.
