President William Ruto has directed Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir and Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi to end the ongoing public-private partnership discussions with Adani Group Holdings.
Speaking during his State of the Nation address in Parliament, Ruto explained that the termination of the government’s contractual engagements with the Adani Group was due to violations of transparency standards.
“I have stated in the past, and I reiterate today, that in the face of undisputed evidence or credible information on corruption, I will not hesitate to take decisive action,” stated the Head of State.
”Accordingly, I now direct – in furtherance of the principles enshrined in Article 10 of the Constitution on transparency and accountability, and based on new information provided by our investigative agencies and partner nations – that the procuring agencies within the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum immediately cancel the ongoing procurement process for the JKIA Expansion Public Private Partnership transaction, as well as the recently concluded KETRACO transmission line Public Private Partnership contract, and immediately commence the process of onboarding alternative partners,” he announced.
This announcement followed the indictment of the company’s directors in a U.S. federal court over a Ksh 32 billion corruption allegation.
Gautam Adani, CEO of the Adani Group, and seven executives have been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in New York for bribing Indian officials. The indictment alleges the company paid bribes to secure false claims to U.S. investors and obtain green energy contracts for its Adani Green subsidiary. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Lisa Miller stated the bribes enabled officials to mislead investors, raise billions of dollars, and obstruct justice, according to CNN.
President William Ruto’s directive to end the Adani Group deal comes as a blow to Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi, who earlier defended the engagement while appearing before the Senate Committee on Finance on Thursday, 21st November.
Wandayi argued that the government had conducted due diligence and was prepared to proceed with the deal despite ongoing court battles.