CS Mbadi, KPC MD Sang Decline Senate Summons Over Ksh 48B Project
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi was among three leaders who declined to appear before the Senate Committee on Energy on Tuesday.
Mbadi was supposed to respond to allegations of irregularities in the construction of the Line 5 (Mombasa-Nairobi) Pipeline, as lawmakers sought answers.
Committee members expressed their displeasure with Mbadi’s failure to turn down the summons, which was exacerbated by the fact that the Finance Minister did not apologize or explain his absence.
“The Cabinet Secretary for Treasury, John Mbadi did not give reasons for not appearing before the Senate Committee on Energy,” Wahome stated as quoted by the official Parliament social media handles.
Besides Mbadi, Kenya Pipeline Managing Director Joe Sang, Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, and the Director General of the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Patrick Wanjiku were also scheduled to appear before the committee to shed light on the matter.
However, Sang apologized to the Committee, revealing that he had traveled to Saudi Arabia on official business.
The Senate Majority Leader @Aaroncheruiyot lays the Report of the National Treasury and Economic Planning Annual Public Debt Management for 2023/2024. #SenateLive
— Senate of Kenya (@Senate_KE) October 8, 2024
Auditor General Gathungu sent a representative, but the committee turned her away because she did not hold a substantive office.
Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina expressly stated that the representative did not take the oath of office and thus could not claim to represent Gathungu.
As a result, the committee decided to give the leaders the opportunity to avail themselves at a later date.
Mbadi, as Finance Minister, was expected to provide a detailed explanation of the Mombasa-Nairobi Pipeline (Line 5).
The Mombasa-Nairobi pipeline, also known as Line 5, is a critical infrastructure project managed by Kenya Pipeline Company(KPC).
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This pipeline, which was officially commissioned in 2018, was built to improve the transportation of refined petroleum products between Mombasa and Nairobi.
The approximately 450-kilometer-long line was built to replace the aging Line 1, providing a more efficient and reliable means of fuel delivery to Kenya’s inland regions.
Line 5 can process up to one million liters of petroleum products per hour.
This capacity significantly reduces the need for road transportation, lowering logistics costs and mitigating the risks associated with fuel trucking.
CS Mbadi, KPC MD Sang Decline Senate Summons Over Ksh 48B Project
