Why this State building is a nightmare for many

By Mangoa Mosota

Kisumu, Kenya:  The former Environment Assistant minister Ramadhan Kajembe was to attend a meeting on the tenth floor of the Nyanza Provincial Headquarters building.

To get there, he had to take the stairs. But on the third floor, a visibly tired Kajembe had to get back to the ground floor of the 15-storey building, choosing to forego a session of East Africa Community MPs’ forum.

For Government employees and wananchi seeking services, climbing up the stairs is a daily struggle they have to endure.

“I have been struggling to go up the stairs since we moved here a few months ago,” a woman working on the seventh floor told The Standard.

The building, whose construction started 30 years ago and is now on the final touches, hosts most Government departments and does not have lifts although the Government had indicated that they would be installed almost two years ago. It is not uncommon to find people gasping for breath and panting as they make their way up the stairs.

Despite the lift problem, a visit to the structure reveals that it is not properly maintained. The stairways are dirty and the corners have large cobwebs. A stench emanates from sixth and seventh floor of wing B that does not have water. As a result, various departments have had to buy the commodity.

It is also evident that most sockets have been vandalised, and some of them have electric wires precariously hanging out.

Construction work at the building started in 1986. While on a visit to the building two years ago, former Ministry of Public Works PS John Lonyangapuo said lack of lifts was a big challenge.

Prolonged tussle

The initial cost estimate for the building was Sh186 million, but so far Sh1 billion has been used.

An engineer contracted at the onset of its construction said the building requires about 11 large lifts. “On average, one large lift costs about Sh5 million, while a small goes for about Sh3.5 million,” said George Muyera, who was the site engineer with Mugoya Construction Company, a firm that pulled out in 1997 due to alleged non-payment.

He said regulations require that a building that has four floors and above must have a lift. “There is also a new requirement to have ramps for the physically disabled,” said Muyera of the structures the building also lacks. A senior government official, who sought anonymity, said there has been a protracted tussle over award of tenders for purchase and fixing of lifts. “But they may be fixed by the end of the year,” said the official.