By Samuel Ngari (additional reporting by Emmah kihiu)
Times up for Adani conglomerate in Kenya and it's time to pack and go after President William Ruto yesterday November 22nd, announced in the national assembly in his presidential briefing.
Ruto 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 (KETRACO) citing controversies surrounding the deals.
Ruto stated that in the face of undisputed evidence or incredible information on corruption,he was compelled not to hesitate in taking the decisive action accordingly.
"The procuring agencies within the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to immediately cancel the ongoing procurement process for the JKIA” Ruto during his briefing.
Ruto welcomed Adani and for a very long time he has justified him as a reputable man and refuted many claims brought up against the deals. Even more ironic after Cabinet Secretary of Energy and Petroleum, Opiyo Wandanyi and CS of Transport Davis Chirchir had claimed he's reputable regardless of his graft case in the US. Opposition leader Raila Odinga, had also quoted Adani to be a close ally who is without blemish and those against him were just being scandalous.
This is the second time Ruto is going against his own words following pressure from Kenyans. He threw away the finance bill in June following the anti-finance bill demos but Kenyans are still skeptical about it's removal. Does it apply for Adani and is this just a PR stunt? Either way it's high time the president started listening to Kenyans.
Criticism is a bitter pill to swallow for most but arrogance is even more expensive.
A lot of Kenyans seem elated by the decision. Hopefully we see the same when it comes to dealing with corruption, the stinging university funding model and SHA just to name a few.
One also wonders how much Kenyans are going trust the government in the future as a reliable source? Let's assume such mistakes won't happen in the future and let there be explicitness when it comes to such enormous contracts. It is also my hope that we do not have other shoddy contracts in the government that might later cost us many years of taxation and risking modern colonialism.
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