Planners association says state to blame for collapsing buildings
The Town and County Planners Association of Kenya (TCPAK) has slammed the government over what it says is complacency in dealing with substandard buildings.
The association was reacting to the Friday incident where, yet again, a building under construction collapsed in Gatanga, Murang’a County, killing six workers.
The building, belonging to the Sunstar Hotel which is owned by electrical supplies entrepreneur Abraham Karuti Itabari, collapsed while most of the workers were out for lunch, leaving behind four plumbers, three masons and a handyman who were trapped.
As the rescue operation ended on Monday, the association of planners said the government has for too long been too complacent on the tragedy of collapsing buildings by allowing impunity to thrive.
Gatanga police boss Peter Muchemi confirmed there were six fatalities while one person had been rescued alive on Sunday after spending three days beneath the rubble.
Two who were earlier believed to have been trapped in the rubble were later traced to their rural homes where they had gone to recover from their shock after escaping from the collapsed building.
Demolish houses
Following the incident, Transport and Infrastructure CS James Macharia ordered the National Building Inspectorate to commence the demolition of 4,000 houses across the country which he said stand condemned as unfit.
He said poor workmanship is the leading cause of the building tragedies in the country. Other causes, he said, include use of substandard materials, non-compliance to building standards and regulations, inadequate structural design and overloading, and inadequate maintenance of structures.
TCPAK now wants the authorities to match their rhetoric threats with action.
“It is not the first time that lives are being lost in a building that was a death trap and which shot up into the air as government witnessed. I hope the government will do what is supposed to be done without treating us to face saving drama hoping that we will forget, forgive and move on,” said TCPAK Chairman Mairura Omwenga.
Mr Omwenga also called on the judiciary to behave responsibly in its input within the building sector.
“When competent agencies condemn a building and attaches plausible reasons detailing the decision, the courts should be very reasonable while giving related developers injunctions to stop demolitions and tenant evictions. The Judiciary should not behave as if it loves death,” he said.
According to a 2020 report by NCA after assessing 14,895 buildings, it was found out that 10,791 were unsafe and either needed to be demolished or reinforced before occupation. Another 1,217 were found to be fair and only 2,194 certified as safe. The report indicated that thousands of buildings across the country exist without legally known approval.
By the time of compiling the report, the country had recorded 87 collapsed buildings in a span of five years and where more than 200 lives had been lost. According to the report, 66 per cent of the buildings collapsed after completion while 34 per cent collapsed while under construction.
Of the collapsed, 65 per cent were residential while 25 per cent were commercial, with 10 per cent being mixed-use developments.
No action taken
Mr Omwenga said that of all the tragedies cited, no action was taken in 12 per cent of the collapsed buildings.
“In 40 per cent of the collapsed buildings, we do not have a clear record of actions. Only one per cent of the cases have made it to court, following a public outcry while in most cases, inconclusive investigations that do not lead to prosecutions are the norm,” he said.
Mr Macharia announced that the government has commenced efforts to amend the National Construction Authority Act, 2011 to give the authority’s board powers to investigate defective buildings, hold an engineer, architect or quantity surveyor accountable for collapsed buildings and refer them for a criminal trial.
The law currently gives the NCA limited powers under Section 23(3) (c) of the NCA Act, 2011 to suspend a construction site for non-compliance, hence rendering it ineffective to crack down on rogue developers.
Mr Macharia said county governments have been an impediment to the demolitions since legally, the national government cannot enforce demolitions without the approval from counties. BY DAILY NATION
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