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The government has allayed fears of possible cost implications following the cancellation of all deals with the Adani conglomerate, following President William Ruto’s directive during Thursday’s State of the Nation Address.
Citizen TV has established that the line ministries of energy and transport and the Directorate of Public-Private Partnerships, domiciled at the National Treasury, have started the termination process.
The Directorate of Public-Private Partnerships and the Opiyo Wandayi-led Ministry of Energy have started examining the legal issues, costing, and pull-out process from the deal signed with Adani Energy Solutions.The government says there may not be cost implications in the cancellation of the deal.
“My team at the Directorate for Public-Private Partnerships will give me a brief after that meeting. As at now, I want to leave it generally, because we are in the process of termination. My final brief will include if there is any possible cost implication, which I think in my view there shouldn’t be,” said National Treasury and Economic Planning CS John Mbadi.
Adani’s indictment in New York, the United States, may have been a key factor in President Ruto’s decision to pull out of a controversial deal Kenyans said violated the Public-Private Partnerships Law and was allegedly marred by corruption.
The government says Adani’s bribery scheme and corruption to raise money from investors, to invest in energy projects, including in Kenya, and fictitious dealings, gives it the liberty to terminate the contract, which it says after all will not qualify as a binding contractual agreement.
“The contract was signed on the basis of the presentation by Adani. And that presentation, if it was fictitious if it was false, then there is no contract. When you do a contract, it must be with clean hands. And that is a very basic principle in law,” Mbadi said.
Appreciating the role of public participation, the National Treasury says views by the public have aided the state and should be considered.
“We must now, as a matter of necessity, also anchor this public participation much better, in terms of this procurement method. So, as part of government agencies, we need to also anchor very strongly as the law requires and give this a high pedestal. Some may even come as a form of gossip,” Mbadi stated.
The cancellation of the Adani deals follows months of public pressure.
The two controversial and high-profile deals suffered a similar fate as the Finance Bill, 2024, which sparked countrywide demonstrations, compelling the president to withdraw it despite approval by Parliament.
By Ayub Abdikadir