National Treasury and Economic Planning CS John Mbadi on Saturday defended Azimio party leader Raila Odinga over his previous support for the controversial Adani Group.
In mid-October, the former prime minister stated that the Indian conglomerate has a good reputation and proven capabilities in projects.
“Adani is a credible partner. They have proven their capabilities in projects that surpass what we have seen in East Africa," Raila said in support of the government’s earlier decision to award some lucrative contracts to the Indian conglomerate.
While defending him, Mbadi noted that the AUC chairmanship candidate had recognized the incredible work of Adani Group in some of their projects in other countries.
He pointed out that it might not be easy for one to verify how Adani got deals in other places if they do not live there.
“I think what Raila said is that Adani has done some projects in some places that can be seen. Like in Mumbai, they have done an excellent airport. Whether they corrupted that one, we cannot know. Kwani sisi tunaishi India nijue kama amebribe watu huku ile ajenge airport (Do we live in India to know whether they bribed people there to get the contracts of building airports),” Mbadi said.
Mbadi spoke on Saturday in Nyando, Kisumu County.
He reiterated that Kenya was still in the process of doing due diligence before signing any contract with the Indian conglomerate.
The CS, however, noted that the move by the US to charge Adani Group founder Guatam Adani and other partners following investigations have changed the country’s position about rewarding them for lucrative energy and airport deals.
“If the US government has done investigations and discovered there was bribery, the best action for any responsible government is to terminate any other dealings with such an entity.
Mbadi hinted that the Adani Group might have hidden some information from Kenya during talks about the projects.
"We were going through the process of validation and due diligence, and if someone does not disclose some materials and facts about themselves, How would you know they have bribed people elsewhere? You can’t tell,” he said.
This comes after President William Ruto announced the cancellation of JKIA and KETRACO deals with Adani Group on Thursday.
Speaking in Parliament during his State of the Nation Address, the president said the decision was attributed to new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations.
