Days after President William Ruto came out publicly to admit that his administration had a serious communication issue before reconstituting his Cabinet, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has come out to raise a contrary opinion on what is bedevilling his government.
Speaking on Thursday, September 12, 2024, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General indicated that there is a big trust deficit in Ruto’s government.
According to Sifuna, the trust issue has been exacerbated by the proposed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) takeover by Adani Group, an Indian firm.
Sifuna who is making a comeback to TV interviews following the formation of the broad-based government, argued that the JKIA takeover deal by Adani Group is currently shrouded in secrecy, sparking outrage from Kenyans who want to know the nitty-gritty.
The outspoken lawmaker further claimed that the Senate Transport Committee was left in the dark regarding the proposed deal forcing them to request the details surrounding the proposed takeover of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) framework.
“It didn’t have to come to this where workers had to go the streets to get details of this proposed deal.
“A few months back, we had the president saying, when he was reconstituting his Cabinet, that one of his problems is communication. I think he has a bigger problem because. My perspective is that the people don’t trust his government. The government has a bigger deficit of trust, therefore nobody believes anything anybody in government says,” Sifuna stated during an interview on a local TV station.
“A trust deficit in this government is the issue with this Adani deal, otherwise, if this was an open government when it comes to deals, there would be less mistrust,” he added.
Adani suspicions
Sifuna further raised suspicions over the Adani Group deal arguing that there is a possibility that the firm did not competitively bid to renovate JKIA.
He posited that if the bidding was actively done then Kenyans would be opposing the deal as most of them only knew of it through a whistleblower.
“Nobody believes that the Adani proposal was privately initiated, many people suspect that the idea originated from here and they (Adani Group) are only a front,” Sifuna added.
“ODM is not part of this government but they are trying to drag us into this mess. Nobody asked ODM whether the airport should mortgaged, this is a policy proposal by Kenya Kwanza,” Sifuna reiterated.
Strike called off
His sentiments come hours after the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) called off their strike that caused flight delays at major Kenyan airports following talks with the government, through the Ministry of Roads and Transport.
The strike, which barely lasted 24 hours, was occasioned by the proposed JKIA takeover by the Indian conglomerate Adani Group, which the workers vehemently opposed.
“We have received the most pertinent documents as requested by the union. We undertake to go through them within 10 working days and flag out areas of our concern which shall immediately be pointed out with a view of jointly engaging in discussions with the government, Kenya Airways, and Kenya Airports Authority.
“The meeting shall immediately be convened after the said period of 10 working days. The way forward shall be determined by the outcome of our engagement on the same. We shall be represented in all the negotiations by two people,” COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli told the press on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, after a closed-door meeting with the Ministry of Transport led by Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir and aviation workers representatives.
