Nairobi County has ordered an audit to check regulatory compliance of all buildings constructed in the city in the past two years, in an exercise that also covers plans that have been approved but projects have not yet begun.
In a dispatch signed by the County Director of Public Services, Mr. Patrick Akibaga, the devolved department called for the participation of stakeholders, including representatives of professional bodies and regulatory authorities, in embarking on this task. .
The county asked six organizations to submit the names of two experts each. The experts will form a 12-member multi-agency committee to conduct the study and submit a report for implementation.
Participating agencies include the National Environmental Management Authority, the National Building Authority, the Kenya Institute of Engineers, and the Kenya Institute of Building Engineers.
Others include the Kenya Institute of Planners and the Kenya Town and County Planners Association.
“The purpose of this letter is to request you to forward the names of two experts from your organization to serve on the committee,” Akibagga said in the letter to the heads of the selected bodies. .
“The multi-agency committee will be tasked with initiating a study, reaching a conclusion within 30 to 60 days, and submitting a comprehensive report for implementation, no later than May 10, 2024. We look forward to hearing from you, and we expect this to begin within the week commencing May 13, 2024.”
The announcement of the audit comes just weeks after Governor Johnson Sakaja suspended all building development approvals to allow room for a new review.
“All building development approvals are suspended at this time until we can review all approvals that have been issued and are continuing in the city,” Sakaja told reporters on April 24.
Early last month, the governor declared that construction of high-rise apartment buildings in the city's upscale areas of Kileleshwa and Lavington would not stop despite public uproar.
The ruling was controversial, as at least 26 professional and resident organizations threatened to seek legal redress if the county did not halt the plan.
But Sakaja remains adamant that the county has no intention of withdrawing the proposal, saying Nairobi's land footprint is shrinking as the population grows.
