OPINION
Sub-standard Buildings in Kenya What is the action taken?
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Prof. Paul Mwangi, the Principal Secretary (PS) for Public Works at the Ministry of Land, Housing & Urban Development.
Buildings collapsing has not been a new thing in Africa and above all in Kenya where many lives have been lost as a result. 12
ollowing the incident of a building that collapsed in Huruma estate and many other cases of substandard buildings in Kenya, Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations (KARA) sought the views of Prof. Paul Mwangi, the Principal Secretary (PS) for Public Works at the Ministry of Land, Housing & Urban Development. Below is the response from the PS. What exactly is the role of the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development (State Department of Public Works) in ensuring that buildings in Kenya are safe, healthy and functional? The Ministry has three State departments with the following mandates that incline to this matter: State Department of Land: Ensures developers have proof of ownership in form of Title deeds; Guides the process of physical planning upon which all development is set. State Department of Housing: Provides framework for housing provision, management and maintenance nationally. State Department of Public works: Sets standards & regulates the building industry through the: National Construction Authority (NCA) that regulates construction sites, as well as contractors and their labour, while improving their skills. The National Building Inspectorate (NBI) audits buildings for conformity with land registration, planning, zoning, building standards and structural soundness. The Board of Registration of Architects & Quantity Surveyors (BORAQS) that licenses Architects and Quantity surveyors. Kenya Building Research Centre (KBRC) the spearheads innovation and research in the industry.
The collapsed Huruma building should have been demolished immediately it was identified as being unsafe. Why didn’t this happen? Demolition of buildings must follow laid down procedures in order for the exercise to stay within the confines of the law. It is important that residents are served notice by the Nairobi County Government, to vacate any such residences and accorded ample time to leave within the context of the level of risk. This was done. Building owners are simultaneously also issued notice of the intended evacuation and demolition and given first option to demolish and salvage any materials they deem useful. It is only when they fail to comply that forced demolition is resorted to directly by the County Government working with the NBI and as has happened in the past assisted by the National Youth Service (NYS). Delays in compliance therefore can squarely be blamed on residents and developers. Where there is rapid compliance by residents, demolitions can be achieved real-time as the critical risk is the welfare of residents. Residents are advised to embrace government advice on their safety positively and respond positively and in haste for their own sakes. There are many buildings that are structurally unsound like the collapsed Huruma building. Has the Ministry carried out an audit to ascertain how many they are and where they are located? Are there plans for immediate evacuation and demolition of such buildings? In May of 2015, the NBI working in concert with the County Government and the June 2016