Mbadi defends Raila, Ruto for backing botched Adani deals
Cabinet Secretary for The National Treasury and Economic Planning John Mbadi before the Senate Finance and Budget Committee at the County Hall Nairobi on September 16, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Mr Mbadi says that President William Ruto did not contradict Mr Raila Odinga, who had earlier supported the investor.
- The CS said the government was in the process of going through validation of Adani Group Public Private Partnership.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has maintained that President William Ruto and Raila Odinga were right to have given Adani Group the green light on its multibillion deals
Mr Mbadi has also said the Head of State should be applauded for cancelling them after new information on the Indian conglomerate’s suspected bribery deals came to light.
At the same time, Mr Mbadi says that President Ruto did not contradict Mr Odinga, who had earlier supported the investor as having a stellar global reputation and capable of executing the big money deals.
Mr Mbadi insists that the government was never aware of Adani Group’s corrupt deal until the United States government exposed him.
"If someone (Adani) does not disclose some material facts about themselves, how will we know that they have bribed people elsewhere," said CS Mbadi.
"Now that there was a special investigation by the US government and they discovered that there was bribery, the best action for any responsible government is to terminate any other dealings with such an entity," said CS Mbadi.
"It is not just Adani Group, any other person even if it is a Kenyan and you are found to have been corrupt, you can no longer be allowed to carry on with the said transaction," he added.
The President on Thursday ordered the cancellation of a 30-year Sh95.68 billion deal for Adani Energy Solutions — a subsidiary of the conglomerate — to build three power transmission lines and two sub-stations for Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) as well as a proposed Sh238 billion deal to run the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for a period of 30 years.
The announcement by the President came hours after United States prosecutors said they indicted Mr Adani for his alleged role in a $265 million (34.3billion) bribery scheme in India.
Speaking in Kisumu on Saturday, Mr Mbadi said that the government was in the process of going through validation of Adani Group Public Private Partnership (PPP) while the company’s corrupt deals remained unknown.
The CS said Mr Odinga had only spoken about some of the projects that have been undertaken by Adani in other parts of the world.
He said what has been in the public domain is the upgrade of Mumbai Airport.
The Treasury CS was speaking on Saturday at a church service in Othoo Seventh Day Adventist church in Nyando Kisumu County on November 23.
He revealed that the Kenyan Government is now ready to engage private developers to help upgrade JKIA, a process he says has to be done fast in the interest of Kenyans and done in a transparent manner.
"Public Private Partnership (PPP) concept is one of the ways the government has developed its huge infrastructure projects. Any private entity or individual with the resources across the globe is now aware that JKIA needs to be developed and that the Kenyan government is ready to engage a private investor," said CS Mbadi.
"We have to embrace the concept of PPP, but it does not have to be Adani Group. If in the process of evaluation, we have any doubts about the integrity of a company then we cannot proceed with the contract," he added.
The CS has further clarified that the private organizations procurement system was a privately initiated proposal (PIP)which could be terminated anytime as long as the performance contract was not yet signed.
He said that with PIP, the government is also allowed to drop private investors for another in case a better deal presents itself.
“We are still open to any other investor out there who wants to invest by partnering with the government to develop JKIA since it is outdated,” he said.
The church service was also attended by the Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi, the East African Community Affairs, Regional Development and Asal CS Beatrice Askul, Kisumu Governor Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, Kisumu Women Representative Ruth Odinga, Chairperson of the SACCO societies Regulatory Authority Jack Ranguma, Kisumu MP Jared Okello among others.
Mr Wandayi and Ms Askul however steered clear of the Adani Group debate opting to rally ODM supporters to back the broad based government.
He urged Kenyans to remain united and said that he is proud to be a member of the broad based government which to him is responsive and sensitive to the needs of the people.
The Energy and Petroleum CS argued that for the first time in history, the Luo community had found relevant positions in government despite being in opposition.
"Representatives from the Luo community are now holding substantive positions in the government despite not voting for it. This is a serious opportunity and you are going to see lots of changes in infrastructure including power transmission and distribution in this region and the rest of the country ," said CS Wandayi.
He added: "I also want to thank the president for the time and systems put in place to ensure that Mr Odinga emerges as the leader of AUC. We pray that come January, he wins that position resoundingly," he said.
During the event, CS Askul appealed to the church leaders to guide the believers in a way aimed at uniting them.
The EAC CS called on church leaders to guide politicians in the best way while guiding them in case of any concerns.
“If we do not act in the right manner, call us aside and advise us in private, do not correct us in public. Also pray for us leaders to lead Kenyans in the best way possible,” she said.
