The Kenya Aviation Workers Union issues a seven-day strike notice if the proposed Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Adani Group deal is not dropped. The union demands an immediate halt to the proposed agreement by the government and the Indian-based company, Adani Airport Holdings Limited, to construct a new terminal at Kenya’s iconic airport.
While addressing their grievances, the aviation workers union reiterated that such an agreement would lead to job losses and interference with local workers at scale. There is fear that the proposed deal would cause a massive influx of non-Kenyan workers at the airport.
The planned industrial action would paralyze and impede the operations at the East and Central African biggest airport, which for long had raked in massive losses.
The government has maintained that the airport is not on sale but rather on a public-private partnership (PPP) to enhance the overstretched terminals at the JKIA airport. However, the airport authority has said the Adani Airport Holdings Limited deal will add a second runway and upgrade the passenger terminal on a proposed $1.85 billion deal.
The agreement was made behind closed doors, which has since raised economic concerns and the future of the airport as the deal proposed a 30-year lease to the Adani Group.
In mid-last month, police cordoned off the airport after protesters were infuriated by the agreement and vowed to occupy the premises. The protesters called for a halt to the proposed leasing due to a lack of transparency and public participation.
The government has said that it would not sell the airport since it’s Kenya’s iconic infrastructure. While addressing the Town Hall meeting in his one-week tour to the coastal region, President Ruto clarified that Kenya is working on a PPP to give the airport a new look.
“Am I a mad man? How do you sell a strategic asset? You have to be insane. We must have the right investment for the airport. What we want to do is work under the PPP program,” he said.
Additionally, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi had earlier refuted the claims that the deal is sealed, saying the partnership will go through thorough scrutiny and due process must be followed.
“This is a public asset; it is a strategic asset, and if it was going to be sold, you can only do it after a full public process that parliament endorses,” he said.
KAWU, however, has insisted that there is foul play in the deal and maintains its call on the government to halt the process and the Kenya Airport Authority management to resign over their alleged involvement in the program.
