The government has spent nearly 40 years building the New Mitihani House, and according to a new report, the building is 60 per cent complete.
According to an Education Sector Report 2024 posted by the Ministry of Treasury, the New Mitihani House, which was set to be the headquarters of the Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC), located on Popo Road in South C, Nairobi, will cost the taxpayers Ksh4.67 billion.
The building has undergone several pushes to complete and was first mooted construction on September 30, 1985, but faced numerous delays due to financial and legal challenges. However, the report now indicates the remaining 40 per cent of the building will take three years to build, pushing the completion of the building to 42 years.
Over the years, the project has been handled by multiple contractors and experienced significant cost escalations, from an initial budget of Ksh248.9 million to nearly Ksh5 billion.
The New Mitihani House building while under construction in South C, Nairobi.
File
According to the latest report, the government expects to complete the building by June 29, 2027, a revision from an earlier projection of June 29, 2025. With this change in dates, it means that by the time the building is complete, it will have taken 42 years to build.
“The project will result in a reduction in transport, coordination, and other logistical costs. ICT integration will also be enhanced,” reads the report.
The Ministry says the building is meant to provide adequate office space to accommodate all Kenya National Exams Council (KNEC) operations and improve coordination. At the moment, KNEC operates in five locations, which are NHC House, Caledonia, Industrial Area, South C, and Bollore Warehouse.
In 2022, the examination body announced it had moved its offices to Mitihani House in a bid to utilize the building. However, reports from the Auditor General, Nancy Gathungu, show that many KNEC employees have been moved to the office despite the building remaining incomplete.
The incomplete project has been implemented through eight contracts, with the report showing that already Ksh2.82 billion has been paid out, leaving a balance of Ksh1.85 billion.
The initial budgeted cost of the building in 1986 was Ksh248.9 million, but this has since ballooned to Ksh4.67 billion.
In 2022, the late Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha revived the push to complete the building.
“We have moved Knec head office and all our services to the new Mitihani House,” read a statement from the examinations council shared on X.
Two years down the line, the Ministry now says the project will need more time. The National Assembly budget committee has in the past criticised the project, poking holes in the length of the project.
“However, there is no tangible progress that has been recorded in terms of fast-tracking the completion of the project to make it functional,” the report reads.
KNEC CEO David Njengere during the announcement of the 2022 KCPE Exam at Mtihani House on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.
KNEC
