State House renovations allocated Sh900 million

Sh500 million will be spent on building construction, Sh250 million on renovations, Sh100 million on ICT equipment and Sh50 million on the purchase of specialized equipment.

The upgrade was set for the end of 2022, when it had a new occupant after President William Ruto came to power following the August 9 general election.

But a serious liquidity crisis delayed the facelift. It is unclear how much of the Sh795.4 million allocation was disbursed to the House of Representatives this financial year. The Treasury had flagged difficulties in fully funding the upgrade, reporting phased disbursement.

“Challenges faced during the review period (FY2020/21-FY2022/23) include inadequate budget provision resulting in pending bills that distorted the implementation of planned programmes, an increase in the cost of goods and services and a high cost of maintaining aging infrastructure within the state. State Houses and Lodges,” the Treasury states in its budget books.

The improvement comes at a time when the State has ordered all ministries and departments of State to cut their operating budgets for the fiscal year ending in June. Kenya faces deepening economic challenges due to rising debt payments, rising interest rates and high taxes that have curbed consumer demand. Difficulties in mobilizing domestic revenue have forced the Treasury to resort to budget cuts and seal a huge fiscal deficit.

“Fiscal policy strives to strike the right balance, addressing rising debt and social unrest, while recognizing the difficult trade-offs exerted by Kenya’s limited fiscal space, which has been exacerbated by continued financial constraints” , added the Treasury.

Taxpayers will shell out Sh1.558 million during the year starting July for the refurbishment of state houses, including Mombasa facilities and state lodges such as Kisumu, Kakamega and Kisii.

Former presidents (Uhuru Kenyatta and Mwai Kibaki) rarely used state lodges, but Dr Ruto has occasionally held cabinet meetings at facilities in Eldoret and Kisumu. Built in 1907, Nairobi State House, formerly known as Government House, is an expression of European style and features a projecting entrance with a triangular top resting on columns.

The now official residence of the President of Kenya was designed by Sir Herbert Baker with notes available online showing that the residence was designed around a large colonnaded courtyard on an ancient site that retained the existing houses as a service wing.

The building previously served as the official residence of the Governor of the British East Africa Protectorate when Kenya was a British colony, but became the residence of founding President Mzee Jomo Kenyatta at the time of Independence.

Nairobi State House is nicknamed “the house on the hill” to reflect its topography in contrast to the rest of the capital city of Nairobi.

In January, President Ruto indicated he would work out of the official Nairobi residence during renovations.

According to the Treasury, the House of Representatives plays the role of facilitator for the President in providing leadership, coordination, oversight and promotion of good governance for sustainable socio-economic development.