Government offices in Ijara Sub- county of Garissa have turned into an eye sore for area residents due to the state of disrepair with walls having cracks and iron sheet roofing rusted by salt-laden winds that blow over from the Indian Ocean.
A spot-check by KNA reveals that most government’s offices in Ijara are dilapidated, especially the ones that ought to be the face of the government and provide a semblance of authority presence on the ground.
Officers are worried of the impending rainy season and the possibility of leaking roofs characterizing most departmental quarters.
Mathenge tree (Prosopis Juliflora) has been identified as one of the notorious threats to infrastructure with their roots piercing foundations of buildings and capable of cracking the hard rocks that hold the base to building structures.
The hardest hit among the Government quarters includes the National Youth Service Offices, State Department of Information and Broadcasting, the Department of Irrigation, the Kadhis Court, Sub-county Treasury, otherwise known as the The District Accountant Offices, which is also the Deputy County Commissioner Offices and the Department of Energy among others.
Private residences are also at risk, especially those that defined Masalani as an urban Centre in the eighties and nineties.
The Ijara Sub-county headquarters at Masalani town, which in 2001 hosted the current Rift-Valley Regional Commissioner, Mr Abdi Hassan was developed with support of late Garissa Senator Mohamed Yussuf Haji who contributed materials for the building of the offices through community assistance and government provided furniture and posted staff.
A few other offices were established by various Ministries and Departments including Social Services, Youth and Sports, however some could not get funding immediately to refurbish their offices and officers were forced to use old furniture inherited from the then Garissa County Council, before devolution came into being.
Civil Servants in the area have appealed to the Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Public Service and Human Capital Development, Geoffrey Ruku, to intervene in the matter in collaboration with relevant line Ministries particularly The National Treasury and Ministry of Works and Housing as well as the Devolution and Lands to actualize land ownership and renovate the offices to boost the image of government in the Sub-county that has /Social/Lang’at/Maruti
By Mohamed Dahir
