• MPs who miss offices at Parliament Buildings are allowed to rent at Sh150,000 per month.
• Allocation of offices at new building to start next week.
The completion of parliamentary offices has cut short the party for MPs who have been raking in millions of shillings for office spaces within the city.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula has now ordered that MPs be allocated offices at the 28-storey Parliament Towers.
Parliament has always provided MPs with offices within Parliament Buildings in Nairobi.
However, those who are unsuccessful are allowed to look for an office space in the city capped at Sh150,000 per month and paid directly to the lawmakers.
This translates to Sh9 million in five years for a member who rents an office.
Some MPs have been using their private offices, including law firms, as constituency offices.
In the new arrangement, MPs will now be housed within Parliament Buildings thanks to Parliament Towers.
Parliament Towers has been under construction for the last 10 years and has used Sh8 billion. It has additional 26 committee rooms and ample parking space.
Wetang’ula who doubles as Parliamentary Service Commission chairman, said on Tuesday that members of the National Assembly will get the lion share of the offices, 280 out of the 331 available at the facility.
The remaining members, he said, will be placed within other existing parliamentary buildings.
Some of the buildings housing MPs' offices include Continental House, Kenyatta International Convention Centre and Harambee Sacco House.
"In order to ensure that members occupy the offices immediately they are handed over, I have directed the clerk to prepare the schedule of allocation of the 280 offices being equitable share of the apportioned to the National Assembly, regrettably around 63 members of this House will not be accommodated in the new office block,” Wetang'ula said.
This comes days after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission warned that some MPs were pocketing rent from the public for offices in their own buildings.
The EACC sounded an alarm over lawmakers using family or associate premises and drawing rent reimbursement from funds emanating from the Parliamentary Service Commission.
“The PSC relies on documents such as lease agreements deposited by members of Parliament or constituency /Senate office managers for the purposes of rent reimbursement without establishing the ownership of such office premises,” EACC deputy CEO Abdi Mohamud said in an advisory to Parliament.
Abdi termed the trend a serious violation of the law and urged PSC to carry out due diligence before reimbursing the office rent.
The anti-graft agency further warned MPs to adhere to the law of conflict of interest and maintain impartiality.
In the new office block, priority will be given to the leadership of the House starting with the Deputy Whips, chairperson of the committees and vice chairpersons, members of the Speaker’s panel and those serving more than one term.
"The election of committee chairpersons and the vice chairpersons will be concluded by Friday, (November 4) and there I have directed the clerk to carry out the allocation next week from Monday, November 7, 2022," Wetang'ula said.
First-timers will be allocated offices through balloting by Wednesday, November 9.