KAWU Secretary-General Moses Ndiema on Tuesday, August 20 bemoaned the lack of access to relevant documents that would be of use during the public participation process.
The Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) has rejected the public participation forum organized by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) regarding the planned takeover of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) by India’s Adani Airport Holdings Limited.
KAWU Secretary-General Moses Ndiema on Tuesday, August 20 bemoaned the lack of access to relevant documents that would be of use during the public participation process.
Ndiema, while speaking to the media, also questioned the necessity of hosting such a forum when the required documents were not made public.
KAWU Secretary-General Moses Ndiema during a meeting with CS Alfred Mutua on August 15, 2024. /ALFRED MUTUA
“We have not seen the document, actually we have been requesting it, but they are not ready to give it to us even saying at one point that there is no document,” he said.
“How do you go ahead with public participation without supporting documents? They are forcing it through, and this is something very suspicious.”
Additionally, the KAWU boss emphasized that the union is rallying its members to reject what they consider a “sham exercise”, and as a result, the union was still preparing for the strike, emphasizing that it was postponed rather than cancelled as some reports had claimed.
Echoing Ndiema’s sentiments, another KAWU official stated that public participation cannot take place without providing participants with the necessary documents, saying “We are not aware of what documents are being used in the public participation forum.”
The official also underscored the need for transparency, done through the establishment of a proper procedure before any public discussions can take place.
“If we have to participate in any public participation, there must be a proper procedure, we cannot allow people to be cheated, we want things to be done in the open and we will challenge this Adani issue to the last data,” the official affirmed.
KAWU emphasized that if the government wants to move forward with any dealings related to JKIA, it must first provide detailed information about the procurement process that led to Adani’s selection, as well as details regarding how Adani was chosen, who the competitors were, and the reasoning behind the decision.
“We are telling the government if they have to do anything with JKIA, they have to tell us where this Adani has come from, how was the procurement process of bringing Adani done, who did they compete with and why,” said the union official.
According to KAWU, KAA has the means to upgrade the biggest airport in the country on its own, affirming its stance against the planned takeover.
“KAA as an authority is able to develop JKIA to whatever category and that is our stand, we are not going to let anybody come and take the JKIA, an asset worth trillions of shillings on a 30-year lease. We are saying no to Adani,” said the aviation workers.
On August 18, KAA assured members of the public and stakeholders that operations at JKIA and all Kenyan airports as well as airstrips would continue as usual following KAWU’s announcement postponing the strike.
Labour Cabinet Secretary (CS) Alfred Mutua met with KAWU officials on Thursday, August 15 to discuss their concerns over the potential privatization of JKIA and its impact on job security.
The workers were concerned that the deal could lead to job losses. JKIA handles over 7 million passengers per year, 98,975 aircraft movements, and 1.2 million tonnes in capacity.
Planes at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). /FILE
