Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Davis Chirchir now says that the office of the Attorney General, Dorcas Oduor, will play a critical role in the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)-Adani deal.
CS Chirchir was explaining whether the AG should be involved in the whole process of the deal before providing a final legal opinion or if she should be taken through it after the process is finalized.
“There has been an argument about whether the AG should be involved or if they should stay out and remain independent, so that when they review, they are not seen as part of the process,” Chirchir said.
According to Chirchir, having the office of the AG involved in the process of the concession agreement would be efficient, as it would not take much time to provide the final legal opinion.
“What I understand about Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects is that you would want someone to walk the journey so that he/she understands, even though they are going to give an independent opinion on the whole project,” he said.
Chirchir Justifies Why AG Oduor Should be Part of JKIA Concession Agreement
Furthermore, the CS highlighted that AG Dorcas Oduor stated she would play a critical role in the deal, adding that she should be part of the journey for it to take a shorter period for legal review.
“I personally talked to the Attorney General and don’t forget that there’ll be concurrence with the AG at various steps of this process,” he said.
“When she is not part of the journey, which is a long process, at the time of giving a legal opinion, she will almost have to be walked through the entire journey, and it will take time for her to understand.”
Also Read: Chirchir Faces Hostile Crowd While Explaining JKIA-Adani Deal
Chirchir added that if the AG is not involved in the JKIA-Adani deal, she will need time later to review the entire concession draft document before it goes for final approval.
Only then can she be completely independent, review the document, and provide her own opinion.
“However, if she walks the journey and understands this complex process, then, at the time of giving her opinion, the AG will have the necessary understanding of the project, making it easier for her to provide a legal opinion in two to three weeks,” added Chirchir.
“Otherwise, the legal opinion may take up to two months to procure.”
The Indian firm intends to upgrade the airport, including the construction of a second runway and a new passenger terminal under a 30-year-build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract.
Also Read: Nelson Amenya: Meet Kenyan Whistleblower Behind JKIA-Adani Deal
Petitions Opposing JKIA-Adani Deal
However, the High Court on Monday September 10 issued an order blocking implementation of the deal following a petition by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Law Society of Kenya.
In a joint application on Monday, LSK and KHRC informed the court that the country could independently raise the Ksh 260,000 billion needed to upgrade the airport in Nairobi.
Meanwhile, activist Tony Gachoka and a group of lawyers operating under the umbrella group Mount Kenya Jurists, have filed a petition in court challenging the government’s plan to lease JKIA to Adani.
Gachoka and the lawyers, are contesting the 30-year leasing plan on the grounds that the process is opaque and lacked public participation.
The petitioners argue that Section 3 of the Public-Private Partnership Act does not contemplate a scenario where the government alienates existing projects in favor of a private entity, especially when public funds have been invested in those projects.
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