Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has said the government will be keen to engage members of the public in the new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with infrastructure company Africa50 for new power lines.

Appearing before the National Assembly Energy Committee on Tuesday morning, Wandayi stated that proactive public engagement was part of the measures to avoid a backlash similar to the one witnessed against the Adani deals.

Wandayi, who spoke after committee members sought to know details of the new power deal, explained that the public-private agreement with Africa50 entailed the construction of two power lines.

The CS reiterated that the private company had already begun talks with the government about the construction of a power line from Kisumu to Kakamega and another from Lessos to Loosuk in Nandi County.

A undated image of a power transmission line.

Photo

Construction Review

According to Wandayi, the ministry would soon commence thorough public engagement at every stage of the electricity project to ensure Kenyans understand the details of the new agreement.

“The public out there will want to be involved or informed at every stage, so what we have decided to do is to be more accommodating of public views by proactively going out to explain what we are doing,” Wandayi said.

“We have chosen to be more transparent and elaborate. We are currently on a PPP project with Africa50 that will help us with two major transmission line projects, namely the Lessos and Kisumu-Kakamega lines,” he added.

However, Wandayi clarified that despite plans for dynamic public engagement, there was still no clear blueprint for how public participation would be conducted across the country.

Wandayi further noted that the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum would heavily rely on Parliament to ensure the deal is procured in line with the Constitution and to prevent the project, which is currently in its initial stages, from attracting lawsuits.

"Even though, from the PPP Act itself, the extent of public participation is not clear, and given how the courts have pronounced themselves before, we shall be relying on Parliament and this committee to work with us as we move along," the Energy Minister stated.

Meanwhile, Wandayi's statement comes barely a week after Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) said that it was in the advanced stages of negotiating a Ksh45 billion power deal with Africa50.

The latest announcement also follows months after Kenya ended two of its privately initiated agreements with Indian conglomerate, Adani Group including a power deal following a public uproar.

A photo of employees from KETRACO at work

Photo

KETRACO