Govt Had Not Begun Talks- Mbadi Reacts To Ruto Cancelling All Adani Deals
Mbadi clarified that the Public Private Partnership (PPP) deals can be cancelled at any time during the procurement process
Viral Tea Ke Writer 
National Treasury and Economic Planning Cabinet Secretary (CS) John Mbadi on Thursday, November 21 revealed that the deals the Kenyan government had with Indian-based conglomerate Adani Group were still in the early stages.
Speaking to Citizen TV outside Parliament following the State of the Nation Address by President William Ruto, Mbadi clarified that the Public Private Partnership (PPP) deals can be cancelled at any time during the procurement process, allaying fears by some Kenyans of subsequent consequences in terms of cancelling the deals.
He added that the government was still in the negotiating stages with both the Ksh260 billion deal for the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) upgrade and the Ksh95 billion power deal before President Ruto pulled the plug on them during his address.
Chairman of Adani Group Gautam Adani. /PHOTO
"Let me make it clear that PPP is a very important process and is necessary and timely. However, there are processes to be followed when procuring," the CS said, adding "The Adani deals have been through Privately-Initiated Proposals (PiP) and the beauty is that it can be stopped at any stage before negotiations are concluded."
The CS, spilling the beans, revealed that the State discovered inconsistencies after conducting due diligence on Adani, with partnering agencies raising questions regarding the Indian conglomerate.
This was in light of the United States (US) government indicting its founder Gautam Adani and several directors in a Ksh32 billion ($250 million) bribery case.
"We were still in the procurement process and the negotiations had not begun. For JKIA, we were doing due diligence. For me it is timely, it is stopped at a time when we don't have legal challenges," he noted.
"We have done due diligence as a government and the report from our partners is that there are a lot of questions around the proposed procurement method."
Following the surprise announcement, Members of Parliament reacted to the cancellation, with Molo MP Kuria Kimani urging for change in the government.
He opined that President Ruto's increased desire to listen to the pleas of members of the public was reducing the urgency for Kenyans to stage anti-government protests on the streets, with social media emerging as the first powerful tool of mobilization.
"We don’t just want to have those parliamentary sittings or those county hall meetings where the views of the public are heard. This means that the tweets these people make from the comfort of their homes to the TikTok videos they do, to the Instagram and WhatsApp statuses that they post expressing dissatisfaction that these views actually matter," he expressed.
"President Ruto is coming out as a listening President and this administration is changing the way they engage with the members of the public. If this continues, even the protests we see on the streets or having people’s properties being destroyed will not happen. If the protests that we do on social media can result in the cancellation of the Adani contract, this means that we are headed in the right direction."
Before President Ruto's directive to Transport CS Davis Chirchir and his Energy counterpart Opiyo Wandayi to end the ongoing public-private partnership discussion, Adani and other executives were indicted in New York on Wednesday, November 20 by US prosecutors for their alleged roles in a yearslong, multi-million-dollar bribery and fraud scheme involving plans to develop a major solar power plant.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement that Adani, a key ally of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and seven other executives, including his nephew Sagar Adani, promised more than $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.
According to a report by CNN, the impact of the allegations, which come more than a year after a US short-seller accused Adani Group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud, was immediately felt across the sprawling conglomerate.
It is worth noting that in October, CS Mbadi noted that PPP deals would still be required to upgrade the airport, regardless of the private investor involved.
"Rwanda has developed a serious airport, Ethiopia has an airport. Kenya cannot lag behind. We're losing our competitiveness as a hub," Mbadi remarked during the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) exhibition in Nairobi.
"Therefore whether it is Adani or not, we must agree that someone must do our airports. It is not just airports alone, major projects. Let us not shy away from engaging Kenyans."
