Raila says he does not regret supporting Adani deal

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga maintains that he holds no regret for supporting the controversial multibillion deal with Indian conglomerate Adani Group.

In an exclusive interview with Citizen TV, Odinga intimated that he supports the onboarding of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to bolster development in Kenya.

While arguing that Kenya can only develop by onboarding private investors, he maintained that Adani has a proven track record and is fit to take on the now-canceled partnership with Kenya.

“People need to understand this. The government cannot finance development projects on the basis of taxation. It is not sustainable at all,” Odinga noted.

“I have no regrets because I know for a fact where the reality is.”

He further noted that the cases floated against Adani were a result of internal fights among investors eyeing the Kenyan deal.

“The charges against Adani are because of competition for projects. There was just misconception and commercial interests that were fighting,” he argued.

Adani was set to take over the country's infrastructure in the energy and aviation sectors as they had proposed a Ksh.260 billion deal to renovate the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for a 30-year period and provide Ksh.95 billion to develop the country's transmission lines, through a PPP model.

The deals were however terminated by President William Ruto on November 21 during his State of the Nation Address, stating the decision was attributed to credible evidence from the relevant agencies. 

This was after the United States government charged Gautam Adani, chair of Indian conglomerate Adani Group for allegedly paying Ksh.30 billion in bribes to the Indian government to obtain solar energy supply contracts. 

The matter had sparked public uproar as many speculated that the deals would be conduits of corruption given that the state was willing to ink a deal with a graft-linked investor.

"What gain do you get when you stop the building of an airport in your country? You have no clue how it's going to be built, wale wanapinga, ata hawajai kanyaga airport, unapinga tu," Ruto stated in Taita Taveta on Tuesday, December 3. 

He reaffirmed that the airport would still be upgraded, citing that it was long overdue.