BONYO'S BONE: JKIA - Why the mystery?

On Tuesday evening, at exactly 9:21p.m., a post on X by Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir informed Kenyans that a contract worth Ksh.154 billion had been signed.

Earlier that day, the Cabinet Secretary had witnessed the award of the contract to China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) for the modernisation of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

This is no ordinary government project. It is one of the largest infrastructure investments in recent years. It concerns Kenya's premier international gateway, and ultimately, it is Kenyan taxpayers who will finance it.

Yet the manner in which the government communicated this milestone raises more questions than it answers.

For months, information surrounding the tender moved through whispers, speculation and media reports rather than official communication. Every new detail emerged from unofficial sources before eventually finding its way into the public domain.

Only days earlier, while responding to public concern during a televised interview, CS Chirchir had assured Kenyans that the successful bidder would be announced publicly within a week and a half.

Instead, five days later, the announcement appeared in a late-night post on his personal X account.

There was no formal press briefing. No official statement from the ministry. No public ceremony. No detailed explanation of the procurement process or why the winning bidder emerged successful from what was reportedly a highly competitive field.

That is not how governments build public confidence, especially when each and every move they make is under intense scrutiny by taxpayers.

Few would dispute that JKIA urgently requires modernisation. The airport has long outgrown its infrastructure, and for more than two decades, successive governments have acknowledged the need for expansion. Compared with regional hubs such as Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport and Dar es Salaam's Julius Nyerere International Airport, JKIA has steadily lost its competitive edge.

Modernisation is necessary and should have begun yesterday. But, CS Chirchir, transparency is equally necessary.

The Ministry of Transport may very well have followed every procurement requirement prescribed by law. If that is the case, then there should have been every reason to communicate the process openly and confidently.

Instead, the flow of information remained fragmented, creating fertile ground for speculation and public suspicion.

Coming in the wake of the failed Adani proposal, the government should have understood that public confidence would not be earned through silence but through openness.

A project reportedly attracting more than 40 international bidders deserved a communication strategy equal to its significance.

The contract signing itself should have reflected that importance. Journalists should have been invited to witness the event on behalf of the public. A comprehensive briefing should have accompanied the signing, outlining the evaluation process, the successful bidder and the value-for-money considerations that informed the award.

Oh, and the Kenya Airports Authority board should have been represented as the trustees of the public at the signing ceremony.

Instead, Kenyans were left examining a handful of photographs posted online, trying to piece together one of the country's biggest public contracts.

Ksh.154 billion is not loose change. It is a monumental public investment that future generations of taxpayers will help finance. Projects of this magnitude demand more than legal compliance; they require visible accountability.

China Road and Bridge Corporation is a globally recognised contractor with an extensive record of delivering major infrastructure projects in Kenya over many years. In fact, the company has secured and delivered projects worth more than a trillion shillings since it came to Kenya during the Kibaki administration.

That reputation should have made it even easier for the government to present the award process openly and comprehensively.

Public procurement is not merely about awarding contracts. It is about earning public trust, and trust cannot be built through late-night social media posts.

It is built through openness, timely communication and a willingness to let the public see that every shilling committed in their name has been accounted for.