The workers at one of the busiest airports in Africa, the international airport in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, announced a strike on Monday, August 19, to protest a deal with the Indian company Adani to modernization and extend the facility.
Moss Ndiema, the General Secretary of the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU), declared that his 10,000 members will join the protest. “We are opposed to the agreement with Adani, which we believe has not followed the legal procedure.”
Documents state that in return for a 30-year operating right, the Adani Group will invest $1.85 billion (about €1.7 billion) to expand Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
The Kenya Aviation Authority (KAA) reports that the Indian company also plans to renovate the passenger terminal and construct a second runway.
According to Moss Ndiema, “we suspect this public-private partnership idea is tinged with corrupt intentions,” and “people want to rip off KAA.” Put simply, they aim to seize control of JKIA and privatize it without adhering to the proper procedures.”
The Kenyan government, which is facing a significant public debt, is defending the agreement to renovate one of the busiest airport hubs on the continent, frequently plagued by power outages and leaks.
The Adani Group, which is involved in a number of industries including media, food, coal mining, power generation, and cement, saw a significant decline in value on the stock market last year after being charged with “shameless share manipulation and accounting fraud over several decades” by US investment group Hindenburg Research.
The family-owned conglomerate’s founder, Gautam Adani, who is ranked as the 12th richest person in the world by Bloomberg, had called Hindenburg’s charges a “deliberate attempt” to harm his reputation in order to help short sellers.