Contractors urged to conform with statutory building regulations for safety of occupants

Real estate stakeholders including contractors and developers have been urged to embrace responsible development for the safety of occupants of the buildings.

Speaking during a Kenya Property Developers Association (KPDA) breakfast forum, National Construction Authority (NCA) Executive Director Eng. Morris Oketch urged real estate stakeholders to comply with guidelines set by the government which will not only guarantee the safety of dwellers but increase the durability of the constructed buildings.

“We are the experts and we have set out these guidelines to protect lives as well as investments…. We are calling on developers to observe terms and conditions during construction since the causes of collapsed buildings range from poor workmanship, lack of professional supervision in construction, sub-standard building materials, negligence and geological weaknesses,” Eng Oketch observed.

Nairobi county government Chief Officer Urban Planning, Patrick Analo on the other hand concurred the state’s increased efforts to reign in on unscrupulous developers who avoid to comply with regulations.

He also said that property owners who missed out on approvals last year when the previous government rolled out a mass titling program could now get approval.

According to Nairobi CEC Planning and Development Stephen Mwangi, the county disapproved the construction of over 18,000 buildings due to failure to meet the required standards.

“We have a huge group of people, more so in our Eastlands who construct without approval. Please follow the rules. It is impossible to have an inspector in every single building at any one time,” he said.

According to NCA, several cases of collapsed buildings were reported last year emanating from poor compliance with set standards, faulty construction methodology, poor structural design, poor quality control, foundation failure, corruption amongst others.

In the last five years 87 buildings in Nairobi collapsed resulting to over 200 deaths and over 1,000 others injured.

The recent incidents include the six-storey building in Kasarani, Nairobi and a five storey building in Ruaka, Kiambu county that led to several deaths and injuries caused mainly by non-compliance with set standards, faulty construction methodology and fraudulent inspectorate officials.

KPDA has been on the fore front in condemning developers who neglect set construction guidelines.