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I Buildhub’: Architectural Association of Kenya‘s latest innovation
‘Buildhub’:
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The portal seeks to provide information to the general public on the processes, fees, requirements, timelines and the professionals involved in the construction’s development process
By Fred Ndung’u
The Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) commissioned a study in 2018 which revealed that the development process in the building and construction sector is a big challenge for many people in the country.
Developers have continued to lack information on the procedures to be followed and on fees to be paid among other requirements, which has in turn often led to development of high risk projects that have lacked the required development approvals and which consequently have posed high risk to users and the general public.
Cognizant of this lacuna, AAK has developed the ‘BuildHub’ --an information portal which seeks to provide among other tips information to the general public on the processes, fees, requirements, timelines and the professionals involved in the development process. ‘Buildhub’ has already involved 12 of the 47 counties in the country and seeks to engage the remaining counties with time.
The AAK President Mugure Njendu explains that the Kenyan law requires that one must obtain building permits and where necessary obtain the requisite planning approvals before developing land in each of the respective counties.
“A building permit is a legal document indicating permission from the authority that a proposed building is compliant with the pre-determined zoning standards. On the other hand, a planning approval is also a legal document indicating permission by the authority for use or development of land in a particular location,” Njendu said during the ‘BuildHub’ and ‘Status of the Built Environment’ launch event at a Nairobi Hotel recently.
She identified change of use, extension of use, extension of lease, sub-division and amalgamation as some of the planning permissions commonly sought before any land can be developed. And according to the Physical and Land Use Planning Act 2019, where a planning approval or Building Permit has been granted but has not been acted upon within three years of receiving the permission, the permit lapses, after which the application process has to be repeated.
AAK believes that the ‘BuildHub’ portal shall be a useful tool for the public in their endeavors to easily
and quickly acquire construction permits. “This is the first among many other steps towards adoption of fully automated development control systems complete with harmonized processes and fees,” Njendu affirmed, adding that AAK has been advocating for the formation of a one-stop-shop that would have the automated system centrally hosted by a department of the national government while leaving some related functions to respective county governments as has happened with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS), which is hosted by the Kenya Treasury.
AAK has also recommended that both development control processes and fees be harmonized across all the 47 counties going to the future.
‘Buildhub’ was hailed as a platform that shall contribute towards improvement of Kenya’s ease of doing business ranking by the World Bank (WB) Group.
To determine the efficiency of a construction permitting system the Group evaluates the number of procedures required for obtaining a construction permit, the cost of the construction permits and the quality control measures in place which include project inspections.
Charles Hinga Mwaura, the Permanent Secretary, State Dept for Housing & Urban Development, Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing & Urban Development and Public Works commended AAK among other private sector institutions for their role in promoting access to affordable housing in the country. As the chief guest at the launch event, he said building & construction processing procedures currently consume over 15 per cent of total building costs but with efficient and effective systems such as the ‘BuildHub’, the costs are bound to decline leaving more cash for buildings development and growth of the economy.
“I’m inviting the AAK to join government, by the end of this month, in forming a steering committee that shall work towards harmonizing development control processes in all the counties in the country,” the PS said.
He blamed slow processing of building permits among other crucial and requisite documents at the Nairobi County offices, an eventuality that has forced developers including international ones to abandon projects leading to loss of wealth growth opportunities and rendering hundreds jobless. “The AAK must help us in taking the bull by the horns in tackling this persistent challenge. Apart from sorting out the different approval regimes in the counties, we must ensure we have the right quality of people and professionals who are also patriotic and who avoid corruption among other social ills currently besetting our Society,” Hinga added.
He also urged AAK to be more proactive and seek partnership with government in the planning for secondary cities and towns in the country.
“Planning by ethical and patriotic professionals whom the AAK should identify and second to projects such as the Kenya Urban Support Program should lead to proper planning to avoid the dilemma and challenges currently being seen in Nairobi owing to poor planning,” he averred.
According to the PS, AAK must mentor young graduates in order to produce professionals who won’t accept the mediocrity syndrome that tends to afflict many professionals in the country.
“The affordable housing programme as part of the government’s Big 4 Agenda is thirsting for private sector support and AAK as one of the key institutions in housing must support it and seek to partner with government in its plans to develop 500,000 low cost shelter units,” observed Hinga, urging the Association to partner by seconding professionals who should take over some projects in the on-going and future initiatives.
