Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo on Thursday, cautioned government officials who were involved in the Adani deal prior to its cancellation by President William Ruto.
According to the lawmaker, Gautam Adani, the founder of Adani Group, is a bitter man following the cancellation of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)-Adani deal.
He attributed this to a leaked call that went viral on the internet between Adani and a senior government official. The entrepreneur in a high-pitched angry voice demanded to know why the deal was being delayed yet he had made some payments.
“Adani is a very bitter businessman. Some of these fellows who have stolen from Adani here in Kenya, they better watch out as they travel the world,” he cautioned.
Maanzo faulted the government for contracting Adani in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) shrouded in secrecy and lack of transparency. He said the country has enough expertise locally that handle the upgrades of the airport.
“We have enough capacity, what is happening is that these deals include a lot of bribery, paid to the brokers and some of the merchants trading with the government. That is why Adani was very bitter about some of his money which was taken away.
“There has to be a procurement process in this country, Adani was a private entrepreneur getting into partnership with the government but there were a number of laws which conflicted and which were not followed,” he pointed out.
In his State of the Nation Address on November 21, President Ruto issued a directive cancelling the Adani deal with JKIA and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO) hours after Adani was indicted in New York, in the United States.
Maanzo noted that Kenyans had already raised alarm over Adani's bid to take over JKIA with some launching legal suits in court. It comes as the court on Wednesday issued orders barring the government from entering concession agreements with Adani Group over JKIA until the pending case is determined.
Maanzo accused Adani of being an international criminal who had been in a number of countries where deals went sour.
Despite the evidence of the cancellation, Maanzo asked the government to assure Kenyans that a private investor would not be awarded any deal to run the country’s main and biggest airport.
“The bigger fear is not about Adani being removed; the bigger fear is another criminal being brought on board to manage the airport,” he stated, stressing that the airport can be upgraded locally.
The lawmaker noted that the Adani deals were part of the quarrels between former DP Rigathi Gachagua and President Ruto which resulted in the ouster of the former.
