Nandi County Senator Samson Cherargei has accused the Kenya Kwanza Government of opulence in the Senate and National Assembly, despite a Ksh500 million debt in the form of outstanding bills.
Referring to the new renovations, the senator stated that some of the upgrades, such as new carpet and paint, were unnecessary.
Despite expressing the need to be magnanimous in terms of spending after being “run out of town” by Generation Z, Charargei revealed that this is exactly what occurred during the renovations.
Speaking on September 17 during Senate plenary proceedings, the senator stated that this was all a waste of Kenyan taxpayer money that should have been invested in more important areas.
“The money that was being used to do renovations of paint, of carpet, we should have given to committees to go and visit Naivasha, see GDC, go and visit Wananchi in Kisumu, in Bomet and ask them what is the challenge with electricity,” the Nandi senator suggested.
He emphasized that the public accounts committee, on which he serves, lacks funds, which is extremely restrictive because it prevents them from traveling to sites to inspect projects and listen to the common Mwananchi.
“Mr Speaker, can you believe we do not have funds as the public accounts committee to even go to Dandora Stadium here in Nairobi or even Toi Market?” the senator quipped.
Cherargei chastised Parliament for having the wrong priorities, revealing that he had written to the speaker’s office to request dividends but had yet to receive them.
This, he claims, would allow the Senate to carry out its oversight duties without any financial restrictions.
Opulence in the nation’s Parliament buildings has frequently been condemned, but it persists despite several politicians’ efforts to combat it.
Just a week ago, the Nairobi County Government obtained a Ksh33 million gold-plated mace, which sparked outrage among Nairobi residents and a section of the Senate.
The National Assembly, which was vandalised during the Gen Z protests on June 25, has also undergone renovations, but the cost has yet to be disclosed.
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