Nyakang’o: Treasury officials secretly visited India in connection with the Adani deal

Treasury officials made a quiet visit to Ahmedabad, India, in January this year to engage in talks with Adani Energy Solutions on implementing public-private partnerships (PPPs) in transmission.

The Auditor of Budgets revealed the visit in his report to Parliament last week, noting that the travel costs were borne by taxpayers, which amounted to £1,252,540 for the two officials.

“Engage in discussions with the PPP Directorate and Adani Energy Solutions to facilitate the implementation of their transmission PPPs,” Budget Controller Margaret Nyakang’o said in the national government’s Budget Implementation Review Report for the 2023/24 financial year.

The revelation came a week after Nyakang’o expressed fears for her safety following the exposure of corruption in both national and district governments during her appearance before the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Commission (CIOC).

“The fact that I hold a protected office was ignored and I was abducted to Mombasa. But I’m here in the office without fear or favor. Sometimes I feel unsafe, but the law protected me. I am here to perform my duties under the law,” she said, referring to her arrest in December 2023.

The visit by Treasury officials, which took place from January 27 to February 1, 2024, remains shrouded in secrecy, with the government keeping key documents relating to Adani’s Kenya deal out of the public eye.

The discussions focused on PPP, which is a key element of President William Ruto’s development plan. Despite the lack of transparency, the timing of the trip raised suspicions because it came as Indian billionaire Gautam Adani was in talks to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for 30 years.

Booker Ngesa, vice-chairman of the Communist Party of Kenya, said PPP is a new way to rob Kenyans.

“Both people left the country, left secretly before feasibility or public participation, then spent millions in four to five days and returned,” Ngesa said, adding: “the biggest problem we face as a country is corruption and waste of public resources.” .

Adani’s deals targeting multiple sectors have sparked public protests, lawsuits and parliamentary inquiries, with critics accusing the government of sidelining proper procurement procedures and sidestepping feasibility studies.

Senate control and controversy

In early September, Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka revealed in the Senate that Adani’s company had secured a contract with the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) to build high-voltage power lines in Kenya before the government made it public, raising questions about loopholes in the law of the procurement process has been violated.

“Why should Treasury officials meet Adani in India instead of Adani in Kenya. This is a pure waste of public resources,” Onyonka said.

He expressed concern that Adani’s influence extends beyond health, energy and transportation, saying the conglomerate is poised to take over sectors such as KenGen and even run the health insurance system through the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF).

Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Opiyo Wandaya, defended the use of PPPs as a necessary strategy for Kenya’s economic development. A few weeks ago, Wandayi, speaking at a public participation forum in Nairobi, argued that PPPs could help Kenya overcome its financial challenges if structured to provide value for money.

“Properly constructed PPPs allow us to achieve value for money,” Wandayi said, adding that projects such as KETRACO transmission lines must undergo rigorous suitability testing.