Lamu, KENYA:Lamu senator Anwar Loitiptip has called for urgent probe and forensic investigations into the construction of the Sh.284 Million county headquarters in Mokowe which is currently uninhabitable due to poor construction.
The bulding that was put up exactly ten months ago but has so far been abandoned owing to its leaky roofs that have subsequently damaged the electrical wiring hence rendering it a safety hazard.
Baraka FM is privy to a letter written by the senator to the EACC demanding for fresh assessments to be conducted to ascertain the real cost of the building so as to rule out any under or over bloated figures.
The senator is also seeking proper valuation of the building in order to ascertain if it met the building code citation by-laws and other occupational safety and health policy guidelines provided by the law.
The building was put up under ex-governor Issa Timamy’s reign and houses the office of the governor and all his cabinet.
Initially, the county headquarters had been located in Lamu island before it was moved to Mokowe on the mainland eight months ago following completion of the new premises.
However, since the rainy period kicked in,the building has been leaking rendering the governor and his entire cabinet and other officers displaced.
READ MORE: Lamu governor Fahim Twaha forced to vacate sh.284 M headquarter premises
The governor is now forced to conduct all his meetings under a tree just outside the building.
“In less than a year after its occupation, the said building has been declared unsafe for use due to its inhabitable condition. The County government used a whopping Sh 284 million to construct the building yet it does not have crucial basic amenities such as electricity, running water, cloakrooms and the building is leaking forcing all county workers to vacate,” said Loitiptip.
“I am therefore requesting for a one week ultimatum audit probe and forensic investigations of the said property to show the actual value of the building, if it meets the building code Citation By-laws and the occupational safety and health policy guidelines provided by the law,” he states.
On Tuesday, Governor Twaha said he had already written to the National Construction Authority-NCA to have engineers assess the safety of the building.
Twaha also said his office would then forward the NCA report to the senate assembly for deliberations and investigations.
