Raila: Cabinet has final say on airport tender

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has told Parliament that the final word on the Sh56billion controversial airport tender will come from the Cabinet.

He told MPs that they had no business investigating the work of the Executive, when the process of scrutiny was still on-going within the ranks of the Executive itself.

“There are certain ways in which the Cabinet deals with issues emanating from various ministries. This matter is with the Infrastructure subcommittee of the Cabinet, it has investigated this matter and it is going to report to the Cabinet tomorrow (Thursday)…and the conclusion will be known thereafter,” said Mr Odinga.

The PM made the remarks on the day that the joint committee of Parliament that looked into the matter, tabled its report in the House. The committee had members of the Budget, Transport and Finance committees of Parliament.

Mr David Were (Matungu) tabled the report.

“If the information had been sought from the Office of the Prime Minister, we’d have communicated that the matter was being addressed, and there was no need for a parallel investigation by the House,” Mr Odinga told the House.

The PM said the Cabinet had not nullified the tender, which Amos Kimunya, the Transport Minister, had told the House, stood cancelled.

Attorney General Githu Muigai, when he appeared before the committee, said the tender had not been cancelled.

Mr Odinga said MPs had acted “prematurely” in their inquest into the tendering and the questions regarding the purported cancellation of the tender, which, has been overturned by the Public Procurement Oversight Authority.

“The House acted prematurely because it started investigations into a matter on which the Executive had not taken any decision,” said the Prime Minister.

“The Executive cannot do the functions of this House, but this House should not attempt to show the Executive how to do its job… the House should tell the Executive how to deal with its own officers,” said Mr Odinga

Mr Odinga also ordered that the chief executive of the Kenya Airports Authority Stephen Gichuki “should not be touched”.

He said the KAA board of directors had erred when it harassed Mr Gichuki, and that for now, the board had been ordered to keep off the CEO.

‘It was wrong for the KAA CEO to be victimised over an issue which had not been concluded with the Cabinet, that’s why I have given instructions that he should not be touched,” said Mr Odinga.

Mr Charles Kilonzo (Yatta) had sought to know what led the KAA Board to send Mr Gichuki on compulsory leave, just because he appeared before Parliament.

The MP had also sought the Prime Minister’s assurance that government officials will not be victimised for letting MPs and Parliament in on what their roles entailed.