Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga now says that Adani Holdings, an Indian firm, offers the best deal for Kenyans.
Raila defended the Kenya Kwanza government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement with Adani, saying it is the best way out for the country reeling in huge debts.
Adani Holdings has bagged a lucrative tender with the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) that will see the Indian conglomerate operate five projects costing Sh95.68 billion for 30 years.
Adani is also involved in negotiations for another controversial agreement that is the subject of court and parliamentary investigations Sh258 billion deal to operate the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport for 30 years.
Amid concerns from Kenyans, Raila insisted that Adani can execute the contracts given its experience and massive investments back in India.
Speaking in Mombasa on Sunday, Raila said when he was the Prime Minister he was invited to India and liked the massive development which Adani had done.
“When I was the Prime Minister, I was introduced to the company and its activities by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while he was the Chief Minister of the state of Gujarati,” Raila said.
Raila said that a Kenyan delegation visited Gujarat and toured several of the company’s infrastructure including the port, power plant, a railway line and an airstrip developed out of a swamp donated by the government.
The delegation further visited Mumbai and saw electricity projects set up by the company serving over 13 million consumers.
“After the Kenya government delegation came back, the company expressed interest in investing in Kenya,’’ Raila said after chairing an ODM meeting in Mombasa.
Raila has previously blasted the Kenya Kwanza government and has never openly backed any of its programmes, with the latest move coming at a time when his bromance with President William Ruto blossoming.
In a change of heart, Raila said the PP arrangement was a better way of executing state projects than seeking funds through the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Raila insisted that the airport upgrade and power distribution in the country was a better deal.
“We all have misgivings about how the current proposed PPP concerning JKIA and power distribution have been processed which has resulted in the raging debate over the involvement of the Indian firm in the airport and energy sector projects. Unfortunately, these misgivings have also resulted in a lot of misinformation regarding the investors who have made the PPP proposals,” said Raila.
The former prime minister defended Adani’s deal with Ketraco insisting it owns more energy infrastructure than Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania combined.
“Adani Energy Solutions has a cumulative transmission network of 21,783 circuit kilometres of power transmission lines and 61,686 MVA transmission capacity,” said Raila.
Raila, who shocked even his allies, said this was not the first time Adani was coming to Kenya through a PPP arrangement.
“Under the circumstances, the most viable, tested and reliable means through which we can sustainably address the country’s infrastructure needs is through Public Private Partnership PPP,’’ he said.
Raila however, said Kenya lacks a proper PPP model to secure the country’s interests as well as those of foreign investors.
He said Kenya lacks proper PPP laws that are capable of fulfilling the needs of the country or expectations.
“We must change the way we address our planned PPPs if we are to protect the current positioning of Kenya as the most reliable and profitable destination for PPP programmes and at the same time ensure the interests of the Kenyan people,’’ Raila said.