President Uhuru Kenyatta commissioned the construction of the G47 Ugatuzi Tower in Hurlingham, Nairobi County on Friday, December 4, 2020.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held alongside the launch of the County Covid-19 Socio-economic Re-engineering and Recovery Strategy.
The 50-storey building will host the Ministry of Devolution headquarters and Council of Governors Secretariat.
It will feature a Devolution National Conference Centre with a capacity to hold 1,200 people.
The conference centre will have unique capabilities to host the annual national summit in a more interactive manner including the legislative arm at national and county levels, executive arm and a gallery for observers, dignitaries such as the diplomatic corps.
The building will include an ultra-modern devolution museum and library to be named after the head of state- Uhuru Kenyatta Devolution Museum and Library.
The library will have the central repository to showcase the devolution journey.
The president will be immortalised as an appreciation for his commitment to support devolution during his tenure.
The 50-storey tower will have 5-star hospitality components in terms of utility and amenities to suit the high-level tenants and visitors.
“Since the start of devolution, it has been our desire to coordinate devolution matters under one roof and today marks the beginning of the implementation of this vision,” Council of Governors Chair Wycliffe Oparanya stated.
In his speech, President Kenyatta stated that while Kenya welcomed the support of development partners, he warned that they should refrain from interfering with the direction the country was taking.
“We will respect you and you have to respect us. Everyone has problems of their own, even they have internal matters which they should resolve. They have no business lecturing us about how to fix ours,” he stated.
The G47 Ugatuzi Tower will house:
Council of Governors Secretariat & Liaison Offices
County Assemblies Forum Liaison Offices
Inter-Governmental Relations Technical Committee
Independent Commissions & Offices
County Assembly Service Board (CASB) Forum
County Public Service Board (CPSB) Forum
Regional Economic Blocs
KRA Counties Liaison Office
The National Treasury Liaison Office
Ministry of Devolution & ASAL Offices
Senate Liaison office