Cars queue at the entrance to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport during the recent strike. File picture: Simon Maina / AFP.BRICS Plus Countries must not only be heard, but they must also be seen to be driving a positive and developmental economic agenda in Africa.
These attempts have however been marred with negative sentiment and recently, the proposal was met with unrest by Kenya Airport Authority employees. The concerns are mainly related to uncertainty regarding job security and the involvement of Adani Group. In many instances, not much effort is put in place to broadly explain the developmental and economic gains, such projects can bring, including but not limited to job creation, bolstering tourism inflows and creating world class international airports to foster air travel in Africa and the world at large.
The recent economic indicators continue to highlight how companies from India that are investing in East Africa have reduced the employment deficit and imparted skills into the rural communities such as in Kenya where they operate. According to a statement by the Kenyan Government on a high-level impact assessment of the Adani Group’s involvement in JKIA, the investment will “accelerate the creation of jobs in the fields of administration, project management, logistics, Information Technology and customer service amongst others.”