The proposed 50 storey G47 Ugatuzi Tower is estimated to become the tallest in Africa when completed. The project which is a partnership between the Council of Governors (CoG), the CPF and Laptrust, will consolidate all state agencies in the devolution sector under one roof, thereby enhancing efficiency. It will house the Council of Governors’ offices, county satellite offices, County Assemblies Forum offices and the Ministry of Devolution and related state agencies.
Construction of the building was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta on December 4th last year. During the launch of the project, CoG chairman Wycliffe Oparanya said that, funds for the project would largely be drawn from county budgets over the next three financial years, supplemented by resources from development partners. He further added that, it has been CoG’s desire to enhance coordination of county governments’ activities under one roof.
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Court process
Construction of the US $1.2bn G47 Ugatuzi Tower along Chaka Road in Hurlingham, Nairobi, Kenya has received a greenlight from the High Court after Justice Weldon Korir dismissed a petition by the Kenya County Government Workers Union and its secretary general Roba Duba that sought to stop the construction of the 50-floor building.
The union had petitioned the court to stop the board of trustees of the Local Authority Pension Trust (Laptrust) and the County Pension Fund (CPF) from committing any funds to the construction of the proposed building. It further sought to prohibit CPF from constructing the Tower on a prime plot that belongs to the county workers’ pension fund.
However, Justice Weldon Korir ruled that the union did not have express authority from its members to institute the proceedings as it did not seek their opinion or that of its governing council before filing the case. He further dismissed the union’s assertion that its members would suffer prejudice if the orders sought were not granted. “In conclusion, it is my finding that the application has failed to pass the test for the issuance of conservatory orders,” he ruled.
