Plans for House to get new IT system

THE installation of a state-of-the-art integrated government information system is among capital works programmes in the pipeline for Parliament.
Installation of new security surveillance cameras, plus the building of a new D-wing building are in the plan.
But all this is subject to funding.
Adviser to the Clerk to Parliament David Wambi told the media last Friday of the plans when explaining some of the projects the government ought to consider seriously.
Wambi said the IT system was important as it would make communication between members and recording of important parliament documents easier.
“The concerns of the building are not new concerns because they have been there for a long time,” he said.
The national parliament building is almost 30 years old and Wambi said since it was opened in 1984, “no effort has been made by any successive governments to provide funding for maintenance and upkeep of the house”.
“Some 15 years ago when the now Member for Rigo Ano Pala was clerk of parliament, he commissioned an engineering firm to undertake a full maintenance audit,” he said.
He said the study found major deficiencies and made recommendations for a complete overhaul of the place.
Among the many recommendations, it urged urgent maintenance of the lifts, the cooling system (air conditioning) and external refurbishments, which were estimated to cost K65 million.