
Murkomen Finally Clarifies Gov‘t’s JKIA Deal With Adani Amidst Sale Claims
Kipchumba Murkomen, the Sports Cabinet Secretary nominee, clarified the government’s deal with Adani International, an Indian multinational conglomerate, on Saturday.
Murkomen, speaking before the National Assembly’s Appointments Committee, dismissed claims that the government intends to sell the main airport.
According to the former transport minister, the government entered into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with Adani to repair the airport.
Murkomen stated that he entered into the agreement with Adani on behalf of the government and that the government had no intention of selling the airport to the Indian company.
Murkomen: I've not sold JKIA!
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) August 3, 2024
Murkomen denies alleged privatization of JKIA
Murkomen: I've no capacity to sell JKIA
President Ruto nominated Murkomen CS Sports
Murkomen among nominees vetted by Parliament
#CitizenWeekend@OBurrows pic.twitter.com/qNkHTCvQt6
“PPP is a very important concept of developing our airport, I want to be very clear to the people of Kenya, I have not and cannot enter into any PPP as a person and I have not in any way sold the airport,” Murkomen stated.
While insisting on the issue, Murkomen emphasized the importance of public participation in the PPP processes to avoid public outrage.
He revealed that the private agreement with Adani was not the country’s first and that the expressway was built under a similar agreement with a Chinese company.
“The president has said this publicly, the prime cabinet secretary has also touched on the issue. Members of the public need to be taken through the process of PPP,” Murkomen told the lawmakers.
According to Murkomen, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) conducted a preliminary assessment of Adani’s viability prior to reaching an agreement.
“Once they do the preliminary assessment, the process now moves to the PPP committee in the treasury but that process has not reached that stage,” Murkomen clarified.
Meanwhile, while addressing the committee, Murkomen expressed his commitment to transforming the country’s sports sector.
The CS nominee promised to make changes within the Kenya Football Federation. According to Murkomen, those who have served in the federation for more than eight years will be forced to step down.
“We will not finance any federation that does not follow the Sports Act & carry out elections. They either agree to what we say or we ‘greet’ them,” Murkomen noted.
The CS also pledged to work with content creators to ensure self-regulation and increase revenue generation.
Murkomen also intends to aggressively market Kenya as a film destination, creating jobs for young people and establishing a regulatory framework for the creative sector.
“If confirmed, I will progress with the development of the Youth Development Bill 2023, Creative Economy Bill, Creative Economy Policy, and National Youth Council (Amendment) Bill to enable the empowerment of the youth,” Murkomen reiterated.
“I Will ensure the Integration of county government role Into the Sports Act for shared responsibility between national and county government.”
Murkomen Finally Clarifies Gov‘t’s JKIA Deal With Adani Amidst Sale Claims