Nairobi County plans to splash millions of shillings to acquire 18-carat gold-plated mace and security vaults in the next four months despite a cash crunch that has seen its supplier and contractor debts hit Sh107.33 billion.
The devolved unit has invited bids for the supply of state-of-the-art mace and security vaults in what will put it in the same league as Nyandarua County, which in 2019 used Sh4.3 million on an 18-carat gold-plated mace.
Nairobi County says, in the tender document, that the head, neck, crest, shaft, and tail of the mace will all be 18-carat gold-plated.
The mace’s overall weight will be between 10kg and to 10.5kg while the height will be about 1.2 metres. Its shaft will be split into six pieces, each piece manufactured in brass and plated in silver. Splitting the pieces will be seven solid brass rings plated in 18ct gold.
“To ensure quality is achieved, the successful bidder shall be required to make provisions for the procuring entity’s (Assembly) user department and the technical experts in the field of mining and identification of precious stones to monitor the whole process,” reads the tender in part.
Gold carat refers to how pure a piece the gold is. Gold is conventionally made up of 24 parts, meaning that 24-carat gold refers to one that is 100 percent pure. In the case of 18-karat gold as sought by City Hall it would mean that the requirement for the mace would be made of 75 percent gold parts and 25 percent metal alloys such as silver, copper, and nickel.
The planned mace with standout aesthetics comes at a time when the county topped the list of devolved units with the highest pending bills, with the figure having risen from Sh100.35 billion in June 2022 to Sh107.33 billion at the end of June last year.
The proposed design shows the third piece of the shaft will have five images, with each depicting an iconic feature symbolising a unique aspect of Nairobi County mounted on the shaft.
The Nairobi Expressway image will be used to symbolize technological advancement as Kenyatta International Conference Centre and Nairobi National Park, depict buildings and nature respectively. An image of Second World War memorial soldiers will be used to symbolize national heritage and freedom while the City Hall building will reference devolution.
The tail will be completed with a solid brass foot and plated with 18ct gold. The upper base of the tail will be solid brass with a brushed finish and will be plated in 999 fine silver, with the surface of this part bearing inscriptions of the 85 wards of Nairobi County.
“The successful bidder shall be required to produce a dummy mace which should be an exact replica of the original mace in aesthetics but not the material content. The dummy mace should by all standards and size resemble the original and should be made of steel with golden coatings,” says the county.
Aside from the mace, the county will also procure a vault with nine separate lockable compartments with a total weight of 500 kg. The vault will be constructed with heavy-duty steel and lined up with fire-resistant materials that can withstand 1,000-degree centigrade temperatures for up to four hours.
The mace symbolises the authority of the Legislature in which it is displayed and utilised. In most Parliaments, no formal business can be transacted in the absence of the mace which owes its origins in the UK and found its way to Kenya in the colonial era.
In 1958, the Speaker of the Legislative Council, Cavendish Bentick, received the mace from the crown Prince. The Parliament of Kenya has used the Mace as part of its legislative undertakings since then, with the tool finding its way into counties when devolution set in.
While the speaker is officiating over the National Assembly, the Senate, or the County Assembly, the mace has to be in its proper place on a table before him or her. The sergeant-at-arms is the custodian of the mace.
