Kilifi MCAs have dismissed allegations that ward representatives’ offices are being constructed for Sh1 billion.
Speaker Jimmy Kahindi, who was joined by more than 30 MCAs, said they approved a Sh409 million for the five-storey complex.
Addressing a press conference outside the assembly on Tuesday, Kahindi said the project was 25 per cent complete. He asked where Kilifi North MP Owen Baya got the report of a Sh1 billion.
He said the complex would have 60 offices for MCAs, upscale restaurant, Jacuzzi, sauna and gym among other facilities.
He said it was legal for MCAs to operate from offices.
Currently, during sittings, MCAs crowd the majority leader’s offices or one restaurant in Malindi before they return to the chambers.
The speaker demanded an apology from one local daily for publishing the Sh1 billion figure, threatening they would withold money for a paid advert. He also asked the media house to clarify the matter because it has sparked public outcry on social media in Kilifi.
“I condemn MP Owen Baya for misleading public, that the county assembly is building a Sh1 billion complex,” he said.
Baya has written to the Controller of Budget to stop allocation of funds to the assembly for the project, saying it was uncalled for.
The speaker defended the decision to construct the complex saying it was made when Baya was the county secretary in Kilifi.
Kahindi said Baya took MCAs and engineers to Nairobi for bench marking at the National Assembly and the project was unanimously adopted.
He said they first engaged a private consultant and the public works department but the the government side quoted more than Sh600 million, and they opted for the lesser amount.
Kahindi said the project was being implemented in phases. He said that since construction began, they changed the first contractor after learning he was a politician who wanted to use the funds for campaigns.
He did not say when the facility is expected to be completed.
