The frosty relationship between the ODM and PNU wings of the Grand Coalition government has put Kenyans at risk of losing Sh4.3 billion in a stalled JKIA project.
Fresh details emerged on Tuesday of how miscommunication among senior officials in President Mwai Kibaki's Cabinet exposed Kenyans to the loss involving the Greenfield Terminal.
The loss followed the termination of the Sh64 billion tender awarded to two Chinese firms — Anhui Construction Engineering Group and China Aero-Technology International Engineering Corporation — to construct the Greenfield Terminal.
Members of the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee have summoned governors Francis Kimemia of Nyandarua and Embu’s Martin Wambora to shed light on the problem.
Wambora was Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) chairman at that time.
Kimemia issued communication contradicting the board’s position that the project be cancelled.
The committee chaired by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir warned that taxpayers may lose more money should the contractor seek damages following the terminated tender.
The terminal construction project was cancelled in March 2016 by Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia, citing non-viability. Grass has overgrown the site.
But when KAA officials led by managing director Johnny Andersen faced MPs yesterday, it was revealed that the office of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga warned against the venture, saying it was untenable.
The ex-PM, through former Transport PS Cyrus Njiru, wrote to KAA in November 2011, warning against the contract prior to it being awarded to the Chinese firms.
The PS asked KAA to stop the tendering process as there was no money to implement the project, however, the tendering committee proceeded to issue the award to the Chinese firms the following month.
The board, then chaired by Wambora, later advised the Tender committee to terminate the contract after it became untenable.
Then-KAA managing director Stephen Gichuki opposed the termination as was decided by the Tender committee in April 2012.
Former AG Githu Muigai, in his advisory to the MD who had sought his advice, said the tender cancellation was likely to attract a lawsuit since an agreement had been reached with the airports' authority.
Back and forth communications on the matter showed that Kimemia, who was then head of Civil Service, in July 2012 also insisted on the same warning that the cancellation would cast the Cabinet in a bad light.
MPs probing the matter, citing a possible conspiracy to push for the tender in favour of the Chinese, sought answers on whether the Cabinet knew of the matter.
They noted a second letter by former PS Mohamed Isahakiah saying the venture could not proceed as it had not been approved by the Cabinet.
“How did KAA proceed with the project before approval by the Cabinet? Our concern is that the contractor may sue for damages arising from the cancellation,” Nassir said.
“This is a bombshell waiting to explode as the situation puts the authority in a precarious position,” he said.
PIC vice chairman Abdisalan Ahmed said, “This is an outright conspiracy. Why did the CEO oppose the directives of his seniors? Who was pushing him?”
“The official should be held personally responsible in the event the contractor files for damages,” the Wajir North MP said.
By the time of cancellation, Sh4.3 billion had already been paid to the Chinese contractors: Sh75 million for the groundbreaking presided over by President Uhuru Kenyatta; Sh129 million to consultants, and Sh7 million to PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
Andersen, the KAA managing director, said the airports authority is already in talks with the contractor with a view to recovering monies that were paid out.
“We are seeking an amicable solution towards recovering the money. This is the most complex transaction we have ever had,” he told MPs.
The puzzle in the matter, which has been an audit query since the 2015-16 financial year, hinges on why the bidding process continued despite warnings by the various agencies.
