City to buy office block for MCAs

City Hall will purchase an administration block for Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) in a move aimed at saving the county millions of shillings in office rent for the ward representatives.

Chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee Robert Mbatia said the building to be located close to City Hall will be purchased from part of the Sh1.53 billion to be set aside in development budget for the county assembly in the year starting July.

Currently 53 out of the 85 elected MCAs are operating from rented offices across the city wards which has seen City Hall freeze funds for development. The remaining 32 offices are dilapidated and in need of refurbishment.

“We will purchase a building close to City Hall next year using part of the funds under the development budget for the assembly,” Mr Mbatia who is also the ward representative for Kariobangi South said.

He added that the county assembly will use Sh35 million out of the Sh400m initially set aside for construction of the block to refurbish the 32 dilapidated offices.

The move comes weeks after the governor Mike Sonko-led administration said there was no land for construction of the block that was to house 39 nominated legislators and chairpersons of various house committees.

The new block was to be constructed in the parking space between Taifa Road and City Hall Way at an estimated cost of Sh400million according to the county’s annual development plan for 2019-2020.

The move to purchase the office block is set to free up funds for projects in line with requests by Mr Sonko’s administration to relocate the funds for development.

City Hall has over the years made huge allocations for payment of salaries, office maintenance and allowances at the expense of pressing issues facing Nairobians like poor drainages, access roads dotted by pot-holes and a struggling healthcare system among others.

The county spent Sh22.36 billion on personnel emoluments, operations and maintenance while using a paltry Sh2.18 billion on development projects in the year to last June.