The Engineers Board of Kenya (EBK) and the National Construction Authority (NCA) have decried the failure by some rogue contractors and developers to follow laid down procedures in construction.
Speaking a day after the latest building under construction collapsed in Ruiru yesterday, EBK CEO Engineer Margaret Ogai defended engineers but acknowledged “there have been shortcuts”.
“The real problem is implementation”, said Eng. Ogai. “We have also seen compromise on building materials by contractors.”
The engineer cautioned developers and contractors on malpractices, noting that some projects had not even been registered by the NCA and were therefore difficult to police. She said a list of registered projects would be published, adding that members of the public were also welcome to raise alarm with relevant authorities if they noticed contravention of building regulations.
On his part, NCA Executive Director Eng. Maurice Akech said a multiagency team would address the issue of buildings collapse “once and for all”. He added that for the latest building, it appeared that a foundation failure could have caused the structure to fail.
Incidents of buildings under construction collapsing have increased in the country. Only a few weeks ago, another apartment block near Nairobi was brought down after it leaned on one side.
Regulatory authorities have come under fire from a section of members of the public for always appearing to react to these incidents rather than preventing them.
