Ruto house upgrade to cost Kenyans Sh100m

The Deputy President's official residence in Karen Nairobi. The government will refurbish the official residence of Deputy President William Ruto in works which will cost taxpayers upwards of Sh100 million. PHOTO: SALATON NJAU 

By SUNDAY NATION REPORTER

 

In Summary

• The Sh100 million budget is a conservative estimate based on the scale of the works involved but the companies which have been invited to bid may pitch a higher amount once the process is complete.
• Key components of the work on the building are the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras around the compound and the building of an electric fence. The residence is guarded by elite General Service Unit (GSU) officers and is adjacent to a military installation on Karen South Road in Nairobi.

The government will refurbish the official residence of Deputy President William Ruto in works which will cost taxpayers upwards of Sh100 million, the Sunday Nation can reveal.

According to tender documents released last week, the new changes to improve the finishing of the imposing structure in the prestigious Karen neighbourhood of Nairobi will raise the total construction cost of the residence, which was inaugurated barely eight months ago, from Sh400 million to Sh500 million.

Then Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka was the first tenant but he did not have much time to spend in the complex as he had to vacate the compound soon after the Cord coalition lost the March 4 elections.

Initially, the refurbishment was projected to cost nearly Sh200 million, but it is said to have been scaled down to around Sh100 million after some components were removed. One such component was bullet proof windows which were left out on cost considerations.

The Sh100 million budget is a conservative estimate based on the scale of the works involved but the companies which have been invited to bid may pitch a higher amount once the process is complete.

News of the refurbishment is likely to generate debate among Kenyans considering that the complex is newly built and the fact that the government is currently reeling under the weight of demands for higher pay from public sector workers.

The latest group to go on strike are teachers in public schools. Their boycott enters the second week Monday.

Tender letters

Tenders inviting companies to bid for the project went out last week. The tender letters were privately offered to 10 companies in a process known as “restricted tendering” which does not involve public advertising.

The tender documents are expected to be returned on Friday July 5, with renovation work scheduled to begin in August.  The winners will be expected to finish construction in three months so that the Deputy President can move into the facility by the end of the year.

Key components of the work on the building are the installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras around the compound and the building of an electric fence. The residence is guarded by elite General Service Unit (GSU) officers and is adjacent to a military installation on Karen South Road in Nairobi.

Although the building was completed in September last year and inaugurated two months later, the main house has remained vacant.  Mr Ruto, who was elected Deputy President in March, is yet to move in and only uses the offices and gym facilities there, like his predecessor, Mr Musyoka did. “The initial estimate was downsized because of costs.

However, the residence is supposed to be constructed to his taste and style. That is why he has taken a keen interest,” said a source who spoke to the Sunday Nation on condition of anonymity.

“I do not think he intends to permanently reside there. Once in a while, yes, he will use the building especially when he has visitors,” stated the source.

Among the companies invited to bid for the contract are city construction firms NK Brothers and Epco Builders. Iltalbuild Imports, which completed the house in 2008, is not among them.

The tender documents show that works will be done in the sitting room, bedrooms and offices.  Mr Ruto wants the size of windows reduced, an apparent compromise after the bullet proof glasses proposal was shelved. The windows delayed completion of the house last year when the Parliamentary Accounts Committee was told that they had to be imported from China.

“The initial proposal was to have bullet proof windows in these rooms but the idea was dropped because of the cost involved,” stated our source.

The construction work will also cover floor finish in the sitting room, main lounge, bedrooms and the Deputy President’s office reception area.  While the reception will be fitted with a carpet, the rest will have timber blocks.