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State plans Sh100m house for the
President
(- but Ogiek are out in the cold)
STANDARD, Nairobi
Thursday October 6, 2005
By Standard Team
The Government will spend Sh100
million on the construction of an official residence for the
Presidency.
Lands minister Amos Kimunya told
Parliament that the money had already been set aside for the
building at State House, which is thought to lack elaborate
housing facilities befitting a president.
The allocation was part of the
Sh3.2 billion the Ministry of Lands is seeking for both its
recurrent and development budget and whose debate began yesterday.
Kimunya, however, did not give
details of the exercise under head 026, item 3110202 titled
Construction of Residential House (His Excellency, the President.)
But the envisaged construction was
immediately criticised as a "palace" that could erode
the dignity of State House, which is also an important symbol of
the nation.
Eldoret East MP Joseph Lagat (Kanu)
said although building the President an official residential house
was not a bad idea; it should be detached from State House.
Said the MP: "I hope we
don’t want to turn State House into a palace. If we want to
build a residence for the president, we should make it elsewhere
so that the dignity of the place is preserved.
Lagat said visiting dignitaries
should be spared the indignity of getting involved in a
president’s personal quarrels with his or her spouse that can
always happen in such an environment.
Unlike his predecessors, President
Kibaki has opted to work and reside at the white building on the
hill that is for many the single most important physical symbol of
power.
The President briefly spent the
nights at his private Muthaiga residence in the first days of his
Government in 2003 before opting for State House.
Retired President Moi preferred his
nearby Kabarnet Gardens residence after spending his working day
at State House, while Founding President Kenyatta used to retire
to his Gatundu home.
The Government is putting up a
house for the vice-president at half the cost of the one proposed
for the president.
Kenyan vice-presidents have often
been housed in their private residences since the Government let
Moi retain the Kabarnet Gardens residence for keeps.
Vice-President Moody Awori operates
from his private Muthaiga residence.
Yesterday, Kimunya said part of his
ministry’s budget would be used to resettle the landless and to
construct houses for the Armed Forces.
More money would also go into the
slum upgrading projects estimated to cost Sh880 billion over the
next 15 years.
Supporting the motion, Kuresoi MP
Moses Cheboi (Kanu) praised the Government for promising to give
title deeds to members of the Ogiek community.
He also hailed the decision to
slash fees charged for title deeds from Sh5,000 per acre to a flat
amount of the same regardless of the size of land involved as
timely.
Cheboi tickled the House when he
narrated how fearful the community had become of imminent
eviction.
"When they see roads being
constructed, they panic because they believe they will be used to
evict them. They don’t even need family planning. Fear is enough
to stop them from giving birth," he said.
State minister William Ntimama
warned that his Maasai community would resist the return of those
evicted from Mau Forest as long as they posed a threat to water
catchment areas.
"Let the minister resettle
them anywhere else in Nakuru, but not in Mau because we will not
accept it. If they want to settle them in Mau, they will find us
there because the Maasai have always preserved forests.
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