The government has launched a crackdown aimed at weeding out substandard buildings in the Nairobi metropolis area.
The crackdown - which comes in the backdrop of increasing cases of buildings collapsing - will be implemented by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS).
NMS, under the leadership of Gen Mohammed Badi, has been tasked with the responsibility of auditing buildings in the city. NMS Directorate of Lands, Housing and Urban Development announced on Tuesday, April 12, that it has partnered with the National Building Inspectorate (NBI) to conduct the audit.
NMS noted that the move was informed by the high number of buildings that have collapsed during construction or immediately after completion.
To avert further loss of lives and destruction of property, NMS stated that the audit will reveal the number of buildings that ignored the set regulations or whose owners did not seek necessary approvals.
Further, the NMS is looking to educate national and county government inspectors on how to carry out building integrity and safety audits to lessen the number of condemned structures in the city.
"The National Building Inspectorate (NBI) on Wednesday held discussions with the NMS Directorate of Lands, Housing and Urban Development ahead of the Building Integrity and Safety Audit exercise in Nairobi. This comes amid rising cases of collapsed buildings in the country," the NMS stated.
"The Building Integrity and Safety Audit exercise will also entail sensitization and technical training of County Government and National Government staff on building audit and inspection to verify structural integrity and safety of buildings within Nairobi."
In 2021, a building under construction in Kinoo, Kiambu County collapsed, an incident that saw surveyors raise alarm over the number of substandard apartments that were cropping up in the county and in the country.
The Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya (IQSK) noted that developers were seeking the services of unlicensed persons to cut construction costs.
IQSK urged developers to avoid shortcuts when building houses to avert losses that arise from collapsed or demolished buildings.
A recent report estimated that the economy lost over Ksh2.4 billion worth of investments through collapsed or demolished buildings. Experts warned there was a management challenge in the industry, particularly the lack of coordinated regulatory efforts, leading to a proliferation of quacks.
A report by The Nation indicated that a PhD student at Carnegie Mellon University Raul Figueroa, who carried out research on Nairobi's buildings, found that the quality of construction was poor across the city, but the situation was more alarming in Buru Buru and Eastleigh estates.
Contractors were also found to be profiting from stealing steel and cement, consequently being responsible for weaknesses in their structures.
