MPs to finally occupy Bunge Towers after eight years of waiting

Members of the Senate and the National Assembly are today expected to occupy their new office building which took nearly 10 years to be completed.

The initial cost of the delayed Bunge Tower was Sh6 billion, but the cost shot up to Sh8.5 billion. MPs will move in phases. President William Ruto will inaugurate the office building later this month.

Construction of the complex took longer than planned because the Exchequer paused the release of funds for the project.

The initial completion date for the project was January 5, 2018, but the deadline was extended thrice. The first extension was done on August 23, 2020, the second on July 25, 2021 and the third on November 30, 2021.

On Tuesday this week, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula told the House that the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) is expediting the completion of the complex to bridge the deficit in office space for members.

Mr Wetang’ula is the chairperson of the PSC that is in charge of the welfare of lawmakers and parliamentary staff.

“PSC has established that members’ offices in the building will be ready for occupation by the end of this week,” he said.

Mr Wetang’ula said the Clerk has drawn a schedule and allocation will be done in two phases to ensure a seamless transition.

The office allocation is always based on leadership, ranking of members and alphabetical order.

“Phase one will involve moving members from KICC to Bunge Tower or other alternative accommodation. This will commence on Thursday (today),” the Speaker said.

Members with offices in Harambee Sacco Plaza will also be moved to the new building.

Thereafter, the second phase of relocation of members from Intercontinental House will begin on July 1.

The Bunge Tower project was overseen by three commissions, seven project managers at the Ministry of Public Works and three accounting officers.

Mr Wetang’ula said changes in the leadership of the PSC had inherent delays in the project’s execution.

28 floors

The building has 28 floors, four basements, a ground floor and access to the main Parliament Buildings.

Bunge Tower was redesigned to accommodate 331 of the 416 MPs of the bicameral Parliament — the National Assembly and the Senate.

The rest will have their offices at the Continental House and Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), among other buildings.

The PSC initiated the Bunge Tower project in 2010 because of challenges of office space for MPs, committee rooms and parking for the leaders.

It was originally designed during the unicameral system for members of the National Assembly, with only 320 offices. But when the new Constitution came into force in 2010, senators were included.

The complex, built by China Jiangxi International Company limited as the main contractor with 13 subcontractors, was initially meant to cost the taxpayer Sh5.89 billion.

However, the cost was revised to Sh7.1 billion with financial claims attracting Sh1.1 billion and Sh225.2 million in interest on delayed payments.

So far, Sh6.7 billion is what has been spent on the building. The initial contract period was 42 months, but it was extended three times.

By the time the building is completed and handed over to the PSC, it would have cost Sh8.5 billion. Construction works ended in 2022 and furniture was fitted.

Preliminary design work and approval was done between June 2008 and May 2010, with procurement done during the 2012/13 financial year.

The main contractor signed the contract for the project on December 29, 2013, site handover was done on January 16, 2014 and construction work began on July 1, 2014.

On November 1, 2022, Speaker Wetang’ula directed the Clerk of the National Assembly House Clerk, Samuel Njoroge, to allocate part of the building in readiness for occupation.

Only 331 of the 416 bicameral MPs will be allocated office spaces from the 6th to the 22nd floor of the complex. They include 280 of the 349 members of the National Assembly and 51 of the 67 senators.

The criteria for the allocation of the office space was twofold.

The first priority was given to the leadership of the two Houses — deputy party whips, members of the Speaker’s Panel, chairpersons of committees and vice chairpersons of committees.

Members serving more than two terms and those living with disabilities were also given priority. The rest had to undergo a balloting system.

Key installations and fittings

The members’ offices are provided in two configurations— two members sharing one secretarial, personal assistant office or one member having a single secretarial, personal assistant office.

During the induction of members of the 13th Parliament in September 2022, the PSC had expressed optimism to have them settled in the new office block by the end of October 2022.

However, Mr Wetang’ula noted that this was not possible because contractors required more time to wind up key installations and fittings before handing over the building to the commission.

“I am reliably informed that the contractors have made commendable progress and soon, the building will be ready for occupation,” the Speaker said then.

The building has four basement floors with parking spaces for up to 350 vehicles, one reception area on the ground floor, 19 floors for the 331 offices for MPs.

It also has four floors hosting 26 committee rooms, an open garden floor, a state-of-the-art restaurant, a health club and a service floor.

The 26 committee rooms that are currently operational, are located on the first, second, third and fifth floors and are served by the six escalators. The committee rooms are fitted with modern audio visual and conference management systems.

Four committee rooms are further fitted with video conference facilities to enable remote presentation of evidence to committees by witnesses.

The building has a Sh150 million tunnel that is separated into a vehicular and pedestrian tunnel. A five-meter wide and 120m long tunnel connects the main Parliament Buildings to the office block at basement two and other adjacent buildings.

The tunnels are meant to “protect” the lawmakers from the prying eyes of their constituents and otherwise “bothersome” members of the public.

A tour down the two tunnels shows that they are properly ventilated, have a 24-hour lighting system, Wi-Fi internet coverage and are manned by security officers 24 hours.

The tunnels are also fitted with ducts mainly carrying power, data and voice services to the adjacent buildings.

MPs have usually complained of being “waylaid” by their supporters and strangers at the Parliament gate for financial and other assistance, necessitating the construction of the tunnels.

During the design of the office block, a traffic study was undertaken on the roads around Parliament.

It established that it was necessary to separate the entry and exit of vehicles to the basement parking due to the size of the building and the amount of traffic that will be generated.

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