KENYA : Nairobi County Government is set to construct a Sh 290 million official residence for the Governor in Kilimani, with construction scheduled to begin by month-end.
According to Acting County Secretary Geoffrey Akumali, The project includes compensation for twelve families currently residing on the designated land, each receiving Sh50,000 as part of the relocation process.
Akumali, addressing the County Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, emphasized the importance of fulfilling this long-delayed requirement, initially mandated under the devolution framework.
“We are behind schedule on this legal requirement,” he stated, noting that the residence is essential to meet audit standards.
The original budget for the residence was Sh500 million, later scaled down after Governor Johnson Sakaja declined the allocation, redirecting funds to community projects instead.
In 2022, Sakaja openly rejected budget allocations for both a governor’s residence and new official vehicles, advocating for the funds to support small and medium enterprises through market construction.
The construction, funded through the County Annual Development Plan, aims for completion by April 2025.
Committee Chairman Jared Akama emphasized that establishing an official residence will help Nairobi comply with legislative requirements and clear audit concerns on governor accommodations.
The move, comes at a Time when the Counties are grappling with a shortage of funds.
The Council of Governors recently rejected a proposal to slash counties' equitable share from Sh400 billion to Sh380 billion.
The Commission for Revenue Allocation also supported the CoG saying this reduction will affect service delivery. The CoG argued that the funds they had already been allocated were inadequate given that the Senate had initially allocated Sh415.9 billion that was reduced through a mediation process involving Parliament and Senate the counties had proposed Sh439.5 billion.
Appearing before the Senate Finance and Budget Committee in Nairobi, CoG said they appreciated the unique challenges the country is currently facing following recent public outrage that led to rejection of the Finance Bill, 2024.
The Governor's, Explained county governments have put in place measures aimed at fiscal consolidation to align with the aspirations of the people asking the Senate to support counties' efforts to get Sh400 billion allocated to them instead of the proposed Sh380 billion.
