Adani-JKIA takeover deal to be availed as Indian Congress doubts group

Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua (right) addresses Kenya Aviation Workers Union members flanked by Secretary General Moses Ndiema on September 4, 2024 at JKIA, Nairobi.[Edward Kiplimo, Standard]

Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has promised to avail to the aviation workers, the documents of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) expansion and refurbishment deal by Indian firm Adani Group.

In the proposed deal that has sparked public uproar, Adani seeks to take over JKIA for 30 years in a plan that includes changing aviation laws and policies to limit competition and maximise profits.

Dr Mutua said its good for the workers to read through the document so that they can make informed choices on the deal instead of relying on rumours. 

“I will communicate with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport Davis Chirchir who has accompanied President William Ruto to China to ensure that you get the remaining documents by Friday, for you to peruse through,” said Mutua, who said he has not also passed through the deal documents.

Mutua was speaking on Wednesday when he engaged the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) members, who are employed by Kenya Airport Authority (KAA),

 “It’s after reading the documents that you will know what is in stake for yourselves as far as labour issues are concerned and so that you speak on the point of knowledge,” he said.

KAWU Secretary General Moses Ndiema, said the government had released few documents on conditions that they will not share them to other union members or fellow employees. 

The workers said they are not opposed to the mordernisation of the airport through the deal, but are against how the deal is being carried out in secret.

The CS asked the workers to avoid engaging in activism but focus on their staff welfare issues as per the deal. 

According to the workers, 30,000 of them stand to lose jobs if the deal goes through or will be forced to reapply through the investor.

Mutua also promised them that he will convene a meeting between them and the Ministry of Transport to iron out their concerns.

The workers, during the engagement, asked the CS why the deal could not be stopped until issues being raised are solved.

According to the workers, already 16 top managers of KAA have travelled to India for a fact-finding mission without the involvement of the union officials.

Meanwhile India’s largest newspaper The Times of India reported that the Adani Group’s proposal to take over JKIA came up before the Indian Congress which called it a move that could “convert into anger against India and the Indian Government.” 

Rhetoric

The paper reported comments by the spokesman of the Indian Congress Jairam Ramesh saying Adani Enterprises has established a Kenyan subsidiary in a bid to intensify its efforts to take over the management of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

“This is a matter of grave concern for India, because the ‘non-biological PM’s friendship’ with Mr Adani is now globally known,” India’s Congress spokesman was reported to have said.

Continuing with his ‘non-biological PM rhetoric, he further said, “Today, the PM’s collusion with the Adani group has contributed to the diminishing of this strength and unprecedented reversals for India on the global stage - just one of the many sacrifices the country has had to make at the altar of the ‘non-biological PM’s special friendship”

The paper said Kenya Airports Authority workers went on strike at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to protest Gautam Adani’s proposal to take over the airport citing ongoing concerns about job security.

The report said Ramesh cited recent projects by the billionare group in neighbouring countries that led to protests against their respective governments.

He said that Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina governments’s contract to purchase power from Adan’s coal plant in Jharkand was one of the boiling points which led to her resignation.

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