Sh14bn plan to revamp PM’s office hangs in the balance

• UNCERTAINTY: As country gears up for a presidential system of governance, PSC now recommends position of premier be scrapped although Sh850m has already been spent towards the offices

A Sh14 billion project to revamp the office of the Prime Minister hangs in the balance following a recommendation by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) that the position be scrapped.

Taxpayers have already spent Sh850 million to finance the purchase and renovation of a building which is to serve as the official headquarters of the Prime Minister.

But the five-year strategic master plan for the PM’s office indicates the cost of setting up a fully functional bureau to support the institution will cost close to Sh15 billion.

About Sh13.3 billion was to be spent on operational support and recruitment of staff before 2012, with the funds coming from the exchequer and various development partners.

According to the current strategic plan, the PM’s office would have 13 new semi-autonomous units with 261 employees.

The plan was launched by President Kibaki last August. At that time, officials in the PM’s office stated they were facing a shortfall of Sh1.3 billion for this financial year after the office was allocated Sh1.8 billion against an estimated budget of Sh3.1 billion. About 130 officials had been hired.

It is unclear how the government will proceed now that the PSC says the country should have a presidential system without a prime minister.

Planning minister Wycliffe Oparanya told the Sunday Nation that the government will not suspend funding for the projects under the PM’s office because of “a mere recommendation”.

“We cannot stop funding the projects because a recommendation has been made to do away with the office. Kenyans have a habit of starting things and then doing away with them. We have put in billions of shillings in the PM’s office, money we could have used to build schools. In any case, I still think the country needs the PM’s office for effective coordination of government functions and we need to re-think that recommendation,” he said.

The Prime Minister’s office was put in place after the National Accord was signed following the 2007 disputed presidential election.

The Shell BP House on Harambee Avenue was later purchased for Sh700 million to serve as the future headquarters of the PM.

Architects renovating the building estimate that the renovations and fittings for the new office would cost at least Sh150 million.

The new headquarters will include a state-of-the-art conference room and an executive office for the PM. A new tele-conference facility donated by US software giant Cisco International, which will enable the PM to engage other leaders, will also be set up.

The PM currently operates from the 14th floor of Treasury Building.

Among the highlights of the Naivasha agreement reached by the 26-member PSC is the scrapping of the PM’s office and the retention of a presidential system of government.

PSC members said the new presidential system will have more robust checks and balances than the current system.

The PSC report says the president will retain executive authority, including the hiring and firing of Cabinet ministers and top government officials.

The president will also be the commander-in-chief of Armed Forces. But a new dimension is that MPs must approve most decisions taken by the president.

By picking the presidential system over the parliamentary system, the MPs effectively sounded the death knell for the office of the Prime Minister, a move that might see billions of shillings sunk into making it effective over the last two years go down the drain.

Turkana Central MP Ekwe Ethuro who sits in the PSC defended the recommendation, arguing that “democracy is expensive”.

“The committee did not look at the cost, we were concerned with what is good for the country. In any case, the buildings and staff will remain government property. We can put them to other uses like hosting the office of the deputy president,” he said.

Under the current strategic plan, the PM is to be provided with official accommodation in Mombasa and Kisumu besides his residences in Nairobi and Bondo, all equipped with a coterie of workers including private secretaries, cleaners, security officers and cooks, all at the taxpayers expense.

The plan provides for 13 new units, including a human resource management and development, information communication technology, policy coordination and public service transformation departments, besides the existing departments in the PM’s office.

Others are the operations unit, private secretary, an office to drive Agenda 4 of the National Accord, strategy and delivery unit, parliamentary affairs and communications departments, diary and hospitality units.

Advisers and staff are to be hired on contracts to give the PM advice in speciality areas such as Agenda 4, economics, infrastructure, communications and climate change.

The policy coordination department with 41 staff will oversee the implementation of policies and programmes. At the time of the launch, the department had only 10 employees.

The public service transformation department, with 73 officials, was created to oversee the implementation of the public service reform strategy

The operations unit is to ensure the PM’s functions are well coordinated and that his speeches are relevant to the occasion. It also organises the PM’s official visits locally and abroad.

The private secretary is in charge of the strategy and delivery unit, parliamentary affairs office, communications department and diary unit.

The strategy and delivery unit will supervise implementation of national priorities and key ministerial priorities, while the parliamentary affairs office will run the PM’s calendar in Parliament.

Public service functions are managed by the Permanent Secretary in the PM’s office who coordinates and supervise the executive affairs of government on behalf of the Prime Minister.

In his role, PS Mohammed Isahakia meets regularly with the Head of the Civil Service and also with Finance PS.