Setback for Adani Power: Kenya court suspends $736 million deal
#News Bureau October 26,2024
Kenya’s High Court on Friday suspended a $736 million deal between Kenya’s state-owned KETRACO and India’s Adani Energy Solutions to build and operate electricity infrastructure, including transmission lines, Reuters reported.
The public-private partnership agreement between Kenya Electrical Transmission Company (KETRACO) and Adani Energy Solutions was signed earlier this month. On October 11, Kenya’s energy ministry said it would end power blackouts in the country and boost economic growth.
The High Court said the government cannot go ahead with the 30-year deal with Adani Energy Solutions until the court makes a decision on a case brought by the Law Society of Kenya challenging the deal.
The Law Society of Kenya, which sued the court over the matter, has argued that the power deal is “a constitutional sham” and breaches “Kenya’s privacy”.
The Law Society also said Ketraco and Adani Energy Solutions have not included meaningful public participation in the project, a requirement under Kenya’s Public Private Partnership Act 2021 that allows the private sector to develop public projects.
Kenya’s energy ministry had earlier said it had run a competitive bidding process. But the Law Society denied this. The Adani Group has yet to respond.
Eye on Kenya’s airport too
The Adani Group has recently fuelled public anger in Kenya for another proposed public-private partnership project to lease Kenya’s main airport for 30 years in exchange for expanding it. The Kenya Human Rights Commission as well as the Law Society of Kenya have challenged the proposed airport deal in court. They say that many details about the deal are not clear, people already working there are at risk of losing their jobs and the deal is also expensive.
Adani Group has been in the news continuously in India after the Hindenburg report. Hindenburg had alleged in its report that Adani Group has defrauded investors in the matter of shares. Indian market regulator SEBI is not investigating it properly. This matter also reached the Supreme Court. However, Adani Group had strongly denied it. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition parties have been alleging that Adani Group is getting protection from the Modi government. Because of Adani, other industries in India are not able to flourish. Adani Group has also been in controversies regarding many airports in India.