President William Ruto has directed the cancellation of the Adani Public Private Partnership (PPP) for the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO) citing controversies surrounding the deal.
During the State of the Nation Address, the President stated that in the face of undisputed evidence or credible information on corruption, he will not hesitate to take decisive action accordingly.
“I now direct in furtherance of the principles enshrined in article 10 of the Constitution on transparent accountability and based on new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations,” he stated.
“That the procuring agencies within the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy Petroleum to immediately cancel the ongoing procurement process for the JKIA expansion,” he said.
The President urged the relevant ministries and agencies to commence finding alternative firms that can undertake the JKIA expansion and the KETRACO transmission deal terming them as important projects which require foreign investors.
“They should begin the process of onboarding alternative patners because this are important projects. We value the contribution of all whether it comes in form of support, criticism or protest.The most important component of leadership is listening and learning,”President Ruto noted.
This coming hours after Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has revealed that Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited(KETRACO) deal with Adani Energies solutions will go on despite fraud charges in the United States as he emphasised that a comprehensive due diligence was conducted by the government.
Appearing before the Parliamentary Energy Committee over the controversial Ketraco-Adani deal CS Wandayi noted that the government conducted two phases of due diligence exercise on Adani including a documentary review process where the company demonstrated technical, legal and financial capacity for the construction of electricity transmission lines and substations.
