Let The DCI Investigate Who The Owners Of IPPs Are, AG Muturi Tells Parliament.
Attorney General Justin Muturi’s statement that there are no agreements between the government and the IPPs has added to the ambiguity surrounding the ownership of independent power producers.
Muturi testified before the energy committee headed by Vincent Musyoka, which is investigating the country’s high energy costs, that the office was not informed of contract signings.
Muturi instead asked the committee to make a recommendation to the Director of Criminal Investigation regarding the identification of the companies’ owners.
Members were stunned by the admission, and Nambale MP Geoffrey Mulanya proposed that those who signed the deals assume personal responsibility for the billions of dollars that may have already been lost.
“I am taken aback by the helplessness that the AG is showing, if we have to cancel the contracts then those who signed must take responsibility.” He said.
Muturi, on the other hand, insisted that as a division of the state law office, they cannot request contracts from Kenya Power, and instead urged the legislature to take the initiative in determining who the true proprietors of the IPPs are.
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“We can not ask for the agreements, but as parliament, you must insist on seeing them, and those found to have bound the government in questionable contracts must be held accountable,” Muturi said.
“This is how the Government loses cases, because the people who have information never want to provide it in good time, because they made mistakes, even as they say they negotiate to insist on seeing the agreements after every week.” He added.
Muturi was also skeptical of Kenya Power and IPPs’ ongoing contract termination negotiations.
“For the last 20 years I have been hearing that settling will be expensive, but we have never been told how much that would be, maybe it would even be cheaper than what we have paid in the last 5 years.” He said.
He requested that the committee be kept apprised of the negotiations should the issue be resolved.
The IPPs have been blamed for the nation’s excessive electricity prices, and previous legislative attempts to address the problem have been unsuccessful.
Let The DCI Investigate Who The Owners Of IPPs Are, AG Muturi Tells Parliament.
