By Grace Gilo
President Ruto has ordered the cancellation of the Jomo Kenyata International Airport (JKIA) Public Private Partnership (PPP) transaction and the KETRACO Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract with Adani.
“The procuring agencies within the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum immediately cancel the ongoing procurement process for the JKIA Expansion Public Private Partnership transaction, as well as the recently concluded KETRACO transmission line Public Private Partnership contract,” President Ruto instructed.
During his State of the Nation Address in Parliament, the President stated that his decision was based on new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations.
“I have stated in the past, and I reiterate today, that in the face of undisputed evidence or credible information on corruption, I will not hesitate to take decisive action,” stated the President.
This directive from the President stands in contrast to the remarks made earlier by the Energy Cabinet Secretary, Opiyo Wandayi, who told the Parliamentary Energy Committee on Thursday that the Adani PPP project would proceed as planned.
“We had no knowledge of any other adverse matters that could have come to light and therefore we are proceeding on the basis of the outcome of the rigorous due diligence conducted by the contracting authority in line with the law,” CS Opiyo said.
“We can’t tell because they are not related to this project and therefore we will be engaging in speculation. There has been no case of bribery or corruption as far as this PIP of Adani is concerned,” the CS added.
Adani had proposed a Ksh.260 billion deal to renovate the JKIA for 30 years and to allocate Ksh.95 billion to KETRACO for the development of transmission lines.
The President further ordered both the procurement agencies of JKIA and KETRACO to commence looking for alternative partners.
“Immediately commence the process of onboarding alternative partners,” the Head of State directed.