By Antynet Ford
Nairobi County Assembly has acquired a purely gold-plated mace for Sh33 million amidst the cash crunch of staff going without salaries and allowances for retreats and sittings for several months.
The 11kg gold mace was unveiled yesterday after resumption from a long recess by the assembly speaker Kennedy Ngondi.
“This is a state-of-the-art mace and a delicate instrument representing the authority of the county assembly as it conducts business. It is required that its custodians and handlers manage it dutifully with the care it deserves.” Ngondi stated in his communication with the speaker.
He further warned and cautioned the legislators against breaching standing orders regarding the mace.
“I urge honorable members to familiarize themselves with the standing orders regarding the mace to avoid issues.” He said.
Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Peter Imwatok called upon the MCAs to subject themselves to the authority of the County Assembly Speaker given that the mace is a symbol of its authority.
“This is made of gold. It is a historic moment for the county assembly and you cannot compare this mace to the mayor’s chain that we had before devolution. This mace is under proper security of custody. We call upon our sergeant at arms to keep councilors off the mace…I urge all members to subject themselves to the authority of the Speaker.” The Makongeni ward and Majority leader said.
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The move to acquire the mace comes at a time a cash crunch has grounded operations at several departments within the county.
For instance, several police officers attached to the County Assembly have gone without allowances for several months now.
Operations of county assembly committees have also been halted as a number of them are unable to carry out site visits due to a lack of fuel.
The county also lacks basic materials such as printing paper.