New Sh8 billion Parliament building ready in two months – Business Daily
Amb. Anthony M. Muchiri, Chairperson, Public Service Commission. PHOTO | SILA KIPLAGAT | NMG
New MPs will wait for at least two months to use the Sh8 billion office block, the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) has said.
Contractors are working on the final touches on the 28-storey office block that has 26 committee meeting rooms.
Its interior fittings have been completed and subcontractors are testing the systems ahead of the allocation of offices to the 416 members of the bicameral Parliament.
“The new MPs will occupy the new office block in one or two months time. We are testing boilers and other systems to ensure all is well before lawmakers are allocated offices,” Justin Muturi said as he exited office as the Speaker of the National Assembly and chairperson of PSC.
“MPs will have sufficient committee rooms fitted with state-of-the-art equipment to facilitate their work. We have set aside 26 committee rooms,” Mr Muturi said, adding the initial design was to host 11 committee meeting rooms.
The new building will also have rooms to host political party caucuses on parliamentary issues including Bills, he said.
“As PSC, we believe that every Parliamentary Group (PG) meeting should be resourced sufficiently including provision of office space, staff, researchers for the PG to take informed positions,” he said.
“This has not happened because PSC in 2013 inherited a building when a matter was in court. PSC is actualising its constitutional mandate of facilitating MPs and we hope the new commission will quickly open the office for use.”
The building has been under construction for the past 10 years and the deadline for completion has been varied a number of times. The PSC spends millions of shillings to hire offices for MPs who did not secure space at the Parliament Buildings.
Each MP without an office within Parliament is given Sh50,000 monthly to rent offices within the city centre.
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