On Wednesday morning, April 19, reports broke out indicating that the Nairobi County Government was expected to spend Ksh500 million for the construction of an official residence for Governor Johnson Sakaja.
The reports further alleged that Ksh88 million was acquired for the purchase of motor vehicles for the Governor and his deputy, Njoroge Muchiri, to use.
The changes were to kick off in the financial year beginning July 2023 as part of the County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) that provided budget estimates for the incoming five years.
The provision of the vehicles would also alleviate Sakaja and his deputy from the trouble of using their private vehicles to run county functions.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Wangui Maina, Director of Communications at the Office of the Nairobi Governor, disputed the reports as inaccurate, adding that the administration policies had changed from the previous regimes.
"In this administration, things have changed as there are two budgets; one for the Office of the Governor and the other under the Office of the county secretary that tabled the budget.
"This was done as a means of formality as the office of the county secretary is in charge of hospitality and also the budget of the house had been there since (former Nairobi Governor Evans) Kidero's time," she stated.
She explained that Sakaja's stance was maintained as he deemed the matter a non-priority in the county government. She added that the government sought the Ksh500 million budget to be placed into other urgent matters such as the construction of markets and the creation of jobs.
Wangui pointed out that Sakaja and his deputy would continue to live in their own residence and use their personal vehicles.
Reports indicated that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) had instructed county governments to construct official residences for the governors and their deputies to prevent them from claiming house allowances.
In October 2022, Sakaja declined the construction of the Ksh500 million mansion, adding that the funds would be distributed to other urgent matters in the county.
