Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has continued to share more details regarding the planned Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) expansion by Adani Airport Holdings Limited through a Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP).
Appearing before the Parliamentary Committee on Public Debt and Privatization at the National Assembly on Tuesday, September 24, 2024, the CS told the Members of Parliament that JKIA employees will not lose their jobs in the proposed Adani takeover deal.
The CS indicated that according to the proposal submitted by the firm, JKIA employees will be guaranteed their working tenure during the interim management period.
“During the interim management period, the JKIA employees will remain employed by the guarantor,” Mbadi stated.
“The concessioner will make an offer to the existing employees on terms that are no less favourable to their existing terms of employment,” CS Mbadi added.
During the session, CS Mbadi informed the MPs sitting in the committee that the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) staff working in JKIA have been taken through the proposal to calm them down after they staged protests over the deal.
JKIA – Adani deal
— K24 TV (@K24Tv) September 24, 2024
CS John Mbadi: During the interim management period, the JKIA employees will remain employed by the guarantor. #K24Siasa pic.twitter.com/te8sJBsdCH
Losses
According to Kenya Airways Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Allan Kilavuka, the one-day strike resulted in an estimated Ksh80 million in revenue loss and additional operational costs.
“The strike that happened the other day, if you look at the cost of time, rebooking, compensation, and other expenses, we estimate the total cost to be about KES 80 million for that one-day disruption,” Kilavuka said.
More revelations
On Monday, September 23, 2024, CS Mbadi faced the Senate Committee on Transport, and the session turned heated.
During the meeting, Mbadi told the senators that the State Department of Transport forwarded a letter to the National Treasury on March 1, 2024, requesting the assessment and approval of the PIP.
The CS explained that an Evaluation Committee with members from KAA and the National Treasury was established to review the proposal as per Section 42 of the PPP Act.
“The Evaluation Committee, in evaluating the proposal, applied the criteria specified in Section 42(3) of the PPP Act to scrutinize the proposal, i.e., public interest criteria, project feasibility criteria, PPP suitability criteria, and affordability criteria. The Committee identified 22 issues in the PIP proposal and recommended that the issues be addressed by Adani Airport Holdings Limited at the Project Development Phase,” CS stated.
When asked about the approval of the PIP by the PPP committee, CS Mbadi clarified that the committee reviewed the evaluation report and allowed the project to move forward to the Project Development Phase under Section 43 of the PPP Act.
Moreover, the CS detailed that the project’s first phase, proposed for 2025-2029, needed to be shortened due to its urgency. The thirty-year concession period under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model was to be determined based on a detailed financial analysis.
“The risk matrix should be reviewed, including social risks and risks allocated appropriately, with the proponent providing a proper mitigation plan. All commitments must be made in line with Kenyan laws, and any proposed amendments to the laws should follow established legislative processes,” the CS emphasised.
JKIA – Adani deal
— K24 TV (@K24Tv) September 24, 2024
CS John Mbadi: When issues are raised around Adani, we should deal with them. We must not close our eyes to deals that may murr a good process where we are attracting direct foreign investment and there is corruption around it.#K24Siasa pic.twitter.com/oV4zEMVBhE
