No toilets for kanjos manning City Hall Annexe as renovation continues
By Kevin CheruiyotThe ongoing renovation of City Hall Annexe has not only disrupted the functioning of some departments but also exposed poor planning by the contractor on site.
On Friday, some of the staff manning the building, who spoke to Nairobi News on condition of anonymity, raised grievances they have been facing for the past two months.
They said the washrooms they used to use have been closed. Sadly, they said, they have been prevented from using other available toilets in the building and have not been given an alternative toilet to use.
“We usually report here early in the morning and the toilets in these offices are closed, which forces us to use those near the GPO,” one of them told Nairobi News.
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The staff manning the building have also complained about the long hours they work and the fact that they are always overstretched when one of them is on leave.
“We have a shortage here. We report for work from 6am to 6pm. There are only two men here and that makes our work difficult,” our source said.
There are 10 inspectors in the Town Hall Annexe, and some of them are about to retire, but the Inspectorate has not considered sending some of the new recruits to this place.
In contrast, a few metres away from the Annex building there were more Inspectorate officers assigned to traffic control.
The officers at the Annexe claimed that despite several appeals to be allowed to use one of the available toilets and to be reinforced, they had received no response.
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To compound their overworked situation, they are expected to cover all 16 floors of the building, when in fact each floor should be manned by one officer throughout the day.
From now on, any new visitor to the building will be forced to knock on a nearby office and ask for directions.
In his remarks on the matter, the chairperson of the County Assembly’s Labour Committee, Allan Maina Gathuku, asked the county Chief Officer incharge of Inspector Mr Tony Kimani, to look into the matter and allow his officers to work in a conducive environment.
“The contractor made a mistake by targeting a toilet, which is an essential area, and closing it has affected the security of the building,” Mr Gathuku said.
Mr Gathuku also said the inspectorate should strengthen the officers at the annex, suggesting that some officers from the blue side, who control traffic, should be transferred to the annex.
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