It has emerged that the National Construction Authority (NCA), received a number of complaints about the nature and state of buildings in Embakasi East's Tassia estate from activist Eric Ambuche with the last attempt before disaster struck being barely two months ago.
Speaking to kenyans.co.ke on Friday, December 6, after a six-storey building collapsed in the area, Ambuche who runs the Slums Outreach Programme, revealed that he had made several efforts to engage the NCA over the unrestricted construction of housing units in the area.
"I did engage the NCA. I have documents showing that they have been reluctant. They said they are understaffed so they cannot be felt everywhere in Nairobi," Ambuche stated.
Ambuche intimated that he had shared a strategy with the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) pertaining to the numerous Salgaa accidents and that they had bore results and urged the NCA to be open to ideas.
"Last year I engaged NTSA on resolutions on the Salgaa tragedies, they listened and it worked, I have the documents to prove it," Ambuche revealed.
However, he stated that there was a problem with the NCA and that it was in dire need of reshuffle if such tragedies were to be curbed.
"If NCA remains as it is, expect the media to be called to Embakasi to cover such tragedies. This won't be the last disaster," Ambuche warned.
"Let's restructure NCA, they come mark the buildings, after they do whatever they do, the markings come off and construction continues. You find a building meant to be one floor has more floors added to it day after day," he claimed.
Ambuche claimed that even after sending them two letters that he showed were received by the authority, the meeting he had scheduled with them never materialised.
Efforts to reach the National Construction Authority for a comment on their engagements with the activists were futile by the time of going to press.
On May 6, 2016 The Standard reported that Tassia estate was among the several estates around Nairobi flagged with over 70 percent of substandard buildings.
