The Kisumu country government has issued an invitation to tender for the construction of a Sh25 million mansion for the governor amid public uproar.
The residents the Star spoke to asked how the pricy residence will help them. They said the governor has homes in the county and does not need a new residence.
Businessman Mark Owiti said a governor's mansion was not a priority. The money should instead be reallocated to more beneficial projects.
“We have many government-owned houses in the county. Why can’t he use them instead?"
Owiti said the county needs critical services which are now inadequately funded.
Vegetable seller Jane Nekoye says such expenditure will open avenues for corruption. "Why can’t they renovate some houses inherited from the local authorities to save the county from incurring more expenses? We know more than Sh25 million will be spent in the process."
The governor’s press unit director, Aloice Ager, said the county was following a SRC directive that governors should be housed by counties.
“The governor’s house is a county property that will be used by governors for all accruing activities," Ager said.
He said that none of the existing county houses "befitted a governor".
Adverts inviting "expression of interest" for the purchase of the governor’s official residence early last year were greeted with a public uproar.
The specifications were that the property should be in Milimani on an acreage of not less than an acre.
The property should be accessible, have a title deed without any encumbrances and must have been valued by a registered valuer.
Former Governor Jack Ranguma lived in a Milimani hotel for months after being elected in 2013.
