City Hall has plans in course to acquire official residences for the governor and deputy governor at a cost of a whooping KSh 500 million.
In 2020, Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) directed all counties to build official residential houses for their top officials within two years in a bid to cut monthly rent expenditure by such officers.
Prior to issuance of the directive, the Nation Treasury would spend KSh 5 million per month as rent for governors, KSh 4.5 million for deputy governors and KSh 3.75 million for speakers.
Nairobi will be the first county to comply with the SRC directive.
“The Nairobi County government plans to purchase Governor’s and deputy governor’s residences amounting to Sh500 million in the next financial year which begins on July 1, 2022,” reads in part the report tabled before the Nairobi County Assembly by the Budget and Appropriations committee.
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Located along the Isaac Gathanju Close in Lavington, the town hall had in the past considered as the official governor’s residence.
The 0.843-acre property was to be given to Nairobi’s first governor, Dr. Evans Kidero in 2013, but he chose to stay at his home in Muthaiga.
Instead, the home was occupied by former City Hall CEC Ann Lokidor until she vacated in November 2018
Also, former governor Mike Sonko did not move into the residence opting instead to continue commuting between his private homes in Nairobi and his home in Mua Hills in Machakos County.
However, in July 2020, Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) Director General Lt. Gen. Mohamed Badi took possession of the residence after Sonko announced plans to move into the home.
Badi warned Sonko to keep the property off as it is now under NMS as part of the devolved county function of land lie. Since then the property has been under the management of NMS.
