Nairobi plans Sh400m office block for MCAs

City Hall has said it will spend Sh400 million on building new offices for its ward representatives to ease the pressure for space from other county government workers.

Building of the new administration block in the parking space between Taifa Road and City Hall Way will start next year, according to the county’s annual development plan for 2019-2020.

City Hall says nominated ward representatives and chairpersons of various House committees lack work spaces.

It added that majority of the members of the county assembly are operating from rented offices, pushing the need for the new block.

“Currently 53 wards out of 85 are accommodated in rented offices. The remaining 32 offices are dilapidated and therefore in need of quick attention to save the situation,” City Hall says in its annual development plan for 2019-2020.

The county government will spend a further Sh100 million on furniture and computers for the new offices.

This comes months after City Hall completed construction of modern committee rooms in the basement area that was previously used for parking.

The county government is also planning to set aside Sh50 million to construct 13 new ward offices to improve working conditions for ward representatives.

The planned administration block comes despite drastically low budgetary allocations to address pressing issues facing Nairobians like poor drainages, access roads dotted by pot-holes and a struggling healthcare system, among others.

City Hall will spend a paltry Sh80 million on medical equipment, oxygen plant and laundry set for its oldest maternal facility— Pumwani Hospital —and Sh105 million for medical scanners and the upgrade of maternal and neonatal wards at Mbagathi hospital.

Dilapidated roads and poor drainage systems are some of the biggest problems facing Nairobians.

The county government will spend Sh42 million on drainage systems and feeder roads in the populous Dandora and Eastleigh areas.