Time to phase out State houses

Time is ripe to do away with all State Houses and lodges outside Nairobi, according to Dennis Lumiti. Retaining these facilities in the age of devolution, he argues, would drain public resources.

Mr Lumiti points out that President Kibaki rarely uses these facilities. Since he came to power in 2002, Lumiti claims, the President has spent less than four nights most of these facilities.

"Perhaps it only the Mombasa State House, besides Nairobi, that the President has used effectively, although annually, as he prefers to spend his December vacation there," he claims.

If his memory serves him well, Lumiti says, the last time the President spent a night in the palatial Kakamega State Lodge was during the 2007 election campaigns.

Lumiti suggests that all State houses/lodges outside Nairobi be handed over to the new county governments and be used to house the governors.

"When President Obama visits states outside Washington, he puts up in a hotel or private residence. That is what the next Kenyan President should do whenever s/he is out of Nairobi," he suggests.