Residents of Nairobi will soon be making trips to Upperhill to engage with their ward representatives.
This comes as details emerge that the 124 MCAs (elected and nominated) will soon have their offices in Upperhill.
Revealing details, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja on Thursday said his cabinet will approve the proposal to have the offices constructed.
“In strengthening your capacity I have signalled my support and the Cabinet will approve the use and transfer of County land in Upper Hill for the Construction of your administration block, assembly and offices for all members to better serve our people,” he said.
The Governor was speaking during the State of the County address at the Nairobi County assembly.
Sakaja told the Star that the assembly had requested to be given land to set up the offices and he has spotted a piece in Upperhill which is county owned.
“ The construction and budget will be catered by the assembly, the executive will just provide land,” he said.
The project to set up new offices for the MCAs began in the Financial Year 2018-19, but the assembly dropped it because there was no land.
Ward reps, in the 2019 Annual Development Plan, had proposed three-year phased construction of a Sh500 million administration block.
Some Sh400 million was to be spent on building new offices for MCAs and a further Sh100 million on furniture and computers for the new offices.
The new block was to be constructed at the parking space between Taifa Road and City Hall Way to provide workspace for 39 nominated MCAs and chairpersons of committees.
Some 53 of the 85 elected members operate from rented offices. The remaining 32 operate from offices reported to be dilapidated and in need of renovation.
In the Fiscal Strategy Paper for Financial Year 2022-202, the Nairobi assembly was to spend Sh1.6 billion in the construction and improvement of MCA offices.
The budget then was Sh671 million higher than that of 2018-19.
The MCAs and assembly leaders were to have their offices at a Sh1.18 billion administrative block.
A further Sh191 million was to be spent on rehabilitating existing offices and the construction of 30 new assembly ward offices, while Sh300 million was to be spent on ICT infrastructure, furniture and other equipment.
However, the plans were never implemented.