WELCOME: President Uhuru Kenyatta is received by his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma at the department of International Relations and Cooperation at OR Tambo Building in Pretoria for the joint SAdC-ICGLR Summit, yesterday.
ONE ON ONE:President Uhuru Kenyatta pays a courtesy call on his Tanzanian counterpart President Jakaya Kikwete on the sidelines of the SADC/ICGLR joint summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. Photo/PSCU
NEW State House staff are struggling to survive months after taking up their new posts with the presidency. Staff who had previously not worked at State House are yet to get office space and official vehicles. Many are yet to get on the government payroll.
Previously staff working for the presidency were mostly based at the Office of the President on Harambee Avenue. However President Uhuru Kenyatta has now moved all operations relating to his office to State House.
Those affected include members of the Presidential Strategic Communication Unit and the Office of the First Lady who were previously based elsewhere in the city. PSCU members are said to be using their own computers to carry out state duties and drive to work in their own cars.
The President’s communication team is also reportedly working on a shoestring budget without have fully functioning and equipped offices.
Staff working for First Lady Margaret Kenyatta have also been forced to share the limited resources at State House after moving from the NHIF building.
Staff who were working at State House before Uhuru took over are apparently reluctant to allow the new staff to fully take charge of the operations.
One State House source revealed that the building has been neglected for years and many rooms cannot be used adequately for now. Some rooms are stashed with files dating back to the 1970s and Uhuru's team is now trying to free them up for office use.
There are plans to refurbish State House so that all staff have working space with more rooms open for use. The planned renovations are yet to kick off.
In the current budget, the seven State Houses and lodges across Kenya had been allocated Sh1.8 billion for recurrent and development expenditure. The repairs, routine maintenance and facelift of the buildings were to cost Sh300 million.
State House, then Government House, was built in 1907 to serve as the official residence of the Governor of British East Africa. Former Presidents Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Moi preferred to stay in their private homes while Mwai Kibaki lived there but spent most of the day at Harambee House.
State House was so used to outsourcing food that the kitchen at the residence was only renovated after Uhuru took over power.It is yet to acquire a wireless internet connection because the National Intelligence Service says it is a security risk.
NIS says wireless internet would expose the President to hackers so State House still relies on cable connections. Uhuru cannot hold a video conference from State House because of slow internet connection, according to inside sources.
The Office of the President runs various accounts on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook but the use of e-mail is yet to be accepted as an official means of communication.
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