'I did not sell JKIA!' Kipchumba Murkomen clarifies Adani deal

Sports, Youth Affairs and Creative Economy Cabinet Secretary nominee Kipchumba Murkomen has explained the details behind the controversial deal involving Adani Holdings proposal to renovate the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement.

Appearing before the Committee on Appointments for vetting on Saturday, Murkomen said the PPP deal involves a collective and thorough process that cannot be struck by a single individual, not even one at the stature of a CS.

He noted that the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is currently reviewing the proposal from the Indian firm to assess its suitability, and afterwards will submit the document to a PPP directorate situated in the National Treasury where public views will be considered.

If Adani is deemed to have attained the threshold required as a private sector partner, Murkomen explained, then the process will move to a contracting authority which will then write back to the Transport ministry.

Upon review, the CS will write to the Attorney General, who will go through the deal and forward it to the Treasury CS. Afterwards, a memo will be tabled in Cabinet for review and the deal is approved if it checks all the boxes.

He explained that such a process could not have been done by himself alone, assuring the public that the deal is yet to be signed amid speculations of secrecy over the deal.

"If someone wakes up and says such an elaborate process involves one individual let alone one agency…I have not, and do not have the capacity, to sell JKIA. A PPP process is a collective process. I want to assure you, JKIA is safe, your assets are safe," he said.

The former Transport CS also pointed out that the public would have been informed of the deal during the public participation phase, which was slated to happen in July but was disrupted by the anti-government protests.

He also referenced the Nairobi Expressway whereby the government entered a deal with a Chinese firm to build and toll the road for 30 years before handing it back to the State.

"The truth is the President has said it publicly, the people of Kenya need to be taken through the process of PPP. The PIP (Privately Initiated Proposal) which is the case of JKIA is not the first one," he noted.

"The first PIP was the Expressway, the government evaluated and found a proper contractor and now we have the Expressway with a contract period of 30 years, transferrable back to the people of Kenya once the road is used and maintained."

Additionally, Murkomen explained that the deal will help the country renovate one of its major infrastructures that has in the past been criticised for lackluster facilities.

"I want to assure Kenyans, where the proponent will build the terminal is only maybe 20, 30 acres, not the thousands of acres, only a small land that will be set aside where the proponent will build the terminal…and we need it, and if we don't do it, we will become the last in the region. Ethiopia has defeated us, Rwanda is about to complete their airport, Tanzania has improved theirs," he stated.

A recent statement from Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi revealed that the government needs Ksh.260 billion to upgrade JKIA.

The renovations include building a new passenger terminal, refurbishing the existing terminals, constructing a second runway and enhancing cargo handling facilities.