Services at the New Nyanza Regional Headquarters building which houses national and county government offices in Kisumu are grounded, after Kenya Power disconnected power over Sh1.1 million unpaid bill.
Scores of members of the public who lined up to seek various services at Huduma Centre which is housed on ground floor, Wing B of the building were turned away after pleas to have the power restored failed.
Several others expressed dissatisfaction after failing to get services at other national and county government offices following the disconnection.
The situation was the same at the County and Regional Commissioner’s offices which are located on the fourth floor of the building.
The move comes barely a week after the county government, whose headquarters is at the building, closed non-essential offices following a Covid-19 scare.
This is after a number of workers were diagnosed with the disease which has since claimed two lives at the building over the past one week.
The power disconnection paints a grim picture of the covid-19 situation, since subordinate staff are unable to clean up the offices due to lack of water.
A worker who requested anonymity said the building was a time bomb if urgent measures are not put in place to restore electricity and water.
“We have not been able to pump water to the tanks since last week, due to lack of power. This is risky because workers and members of the public seeking services such as washing their hands and access clean washrooms cannot do so,” he said.
The bill is said to have accumulated over time since it is shared between the county government and various national government departments housed at the building.
The county government has blamed the situation to a delay in disbursement of funds from the national treasury, while several national government departments are unable to pay since they have not received their money from their head offices for the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
By Chris Mahandara
