Lamu county MCAs will next month move into the new Sh214 million county assembly offices in Mokowe town in Lamu West.
Speaking in Mokowe on Wednesday, Lamu county assembly clerk Mboche Wanyoike said construction and installation of furniture was complete.
He said the building was ready for occupation but given that the assembly is on recess, the MCAs will move in next month once they resume.
“The MCAs are currently in recess but when they resume in February, they will move in. We shall also conduct the official opening the same month once the assembly resumes. Our first sitting this 2021 will be at the new chambers,” Wanyoike said.
Construction of the new chambers has been ongoing since 2016 after the county government announced that it was transferring the county assembly from Lamu island to the mainland side in Mokowe for ease of access to all.
Since 2013, Lamu MCAs have been using the Lamu Social Hall on Lamu island.
There have however been complaints from the MCAs and other staff that the older chambers were small and stuffy making sittings uncomfortable for the county lawmakers.
The limited space in the old chambers also meant it was impossible to host interested members of the public to follow crucial proceedings.
The new facility has been designed to accommodate at least 36 MCAs in a single sitting with an extra chamber designed to hold over 100 members of the public who will wish to follow proceedings.
The new chambers have also been installed with 32 offices for all the MCAs, unlike the older one where MCAs did not have any offices.
Lamu County Assembly Deputy Speaker Paul Kimani said the previous office was small and to a large extent hindered effective delivery of services.
“The MCAs would be forced to cram up inside the older building and it was very unpleasant. Members of the public would follow proceedings through the windows which were also uncomfortable for them. The new facility is dignified,” Kimani said.
Majority of the MCAs live on the mainland and operating in the older chambers meant daily boat trips to and from the island which they found time-consuming and costly.
The location of the new chambers on the mainland means the MCAs can now comfortably and conveniently access their offices to render services to wananchi.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
