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    "id": 613964,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/613964/?format=api",
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    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, let me go into the details of the Report which are important for Members when they are reading it to digest. Chapter II gives the background of the Report. This is historical information that perhaps has been available in the public domain and I do not need to dwell on it so much. However, it is important to know that when the airline was privatized - these facts are important hence the role of the Senate - in 1996, when there was a rights issue, KLM or Dutch Airlines purchased 26 percent of the equity and the Kenya Government through the National Treasury received over US$ 70million from that sale. Over 113 000 Kenyans bought 22 per cent of the shares in the airline. The majority bought the equivalent of about US$ 200 worth of shares. Kenyan financial institutions bought 12 per cent and the international financial investors got14 per cent and the employees of the airline acquired 3 percent. This shows the extent to which there is national interest in the fate of the national airline. Our local banks have an interest because they have shares in the company. We ourselves and the local financial institutions have an interest. Therefore, this House cannot sit pretty when the national pride carrier is going down. Necessary measures must be taken to make sure that it is buoyant and it lives up to its motto; ‘the pride of Africa.’ Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, a couple of years ago, under the leadership of the previous chief executive officer, the airline involved herself in an ambitious 10 year expansion plan called the Mawingu plan. This was a plan to acquire nine Dreamliners and 19 Embrears. The airline sold some of its old crafts like the Boeing 777 series which had served the airline very well. In the aviation industry, it is not how old the plane is but how airworthy the plane is. The age is not the issue but its airworthiness. When leasing, buying or selling an aircraft, the company must be aware of the extent of its capacity to carry passengers on the routes that they are to ply on. These matters guide the lease, sale and purchase of airlines. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, after extensive discussion with specialists and after extensive research by both our budget and legal secretariat, we came to a conclusion that the manner in which the Mawingu plan was conceived, and the manner in which the national flag carrier has engaged herself in the buying and leasing of aircrafts, has been part of the problem. That is one of the reasons why we are calling upon McKinsey in his turn-around initiative and the Board to look carefully at the management, the structure of the Board and the decisions that have been made and the extent to which there has been sound practice in the aviation industry. We also received presentations from the workers and the unions. Three things stood out. Industrial relations is something delicate in the aviation industry. Here, it The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}