President Uhuru Kenyatta Searching for a New Office

An advertisement posted by State House Comptroller Kinuthia Mbugua on Tuesday indicated that President Uhuru Kenyatta is on the search for new office premises.

While it is unclear why the President may want to move his office from Harambee House, the advert outlined that the office should be located in Nairobi's Upper Hill area.

"The office should be within a radius of not more than 2.5 kilometres from the Nairobi Central Business District and preferably along 4th Ngong Avenue, 5th Ngong Avenue and Ralph Bunche Road," the State House official posted.

The advert went on to specify that the place should be between 6,000 and 8,000 square feet of office space on rent.

[caption caption="State House Comptroller Kinuthia Mbugua"][/caption]

By estimation, the move is likely to cost the taxpayer Sh14 Million should the rent be charged at Sh150,000 per square metre.

The amount will be much higher if costs such as those for furniture, service fees and fittings are factored in.

The 2018 draft of the budget outlines that the President's office requested Sh2 Billion expenses under a "capital expenses for Cabinet" tag.

Projections indicate that Cabinet affairs costs, which stand at Sh2.3 Billion, are likely to rise to Sh4.5 Billion in 2018 and up to Sh5 Billion in 2019.

In his first term, President Kenyatta almost exclusively conducted official meetings at his State House office and in November moved to Harambee House.

Most cabinet meetings have been held there since.

[caption caption="File image of President Kenyatta during a meeting"][/caption]