MCAs part of city hall building approval mess — Speaker Ng’ondi

City Hall officials and members of the county assembly are to blame for irregular building policy, resulting in poor planning and unsafe structures, Nairobi speaker Ken Ng’ondi has said.

Ng’ondi said MCAS are also part of the problem by turning a blind eye as officials issue irregular building permits, violate the environment and approve the construction of unsafe structures.

In a communication to the House, the speaker faulted MCAs for failing in their job of oversight, saying instead of scrutinising the decisions of the city hall mandarins, including physical planning, they are lax - even when illegal construction happens in their wards.

“The critical area of concern is physical planning and construction. We have allowed executive officials in the planning department to operate with minimal accountability. This negligence has led to blatant violations of the Physical Planning Act, resulting in substandard buildings and rogue developers prioritising profit over safety,” he said.

The MCAs have also failed to demand public participation before officials approve proposed highrise structures.

“This has been disregarded on numerous occasions, leading to high-rise buildings appearing in our wards — sometimes without the knowledge of the very members tasked with safeguarding them,” the speaker said.

“Illegal developments continue to emerge, endangering lives and worsening Nairobi’s urban chaos.”

Residents of various estates have complained about sporadic erection of high-rise buildings in parts of the city, negatively impacting the environment, compromising the security of communities and taking up playing spaces for children. 

They also complain that high-rise apartments tend to have tiny rooms, no lifts and are built using substandard materials that result in weak structures, resulting in their collapse.

Ng’ondi urged sectoral committees to demand accountability from the executive, accusing them of relying on unverified information from county officials.

“Many committees have abandoned this responsibility, opting instead for second-hand reports from officials. Even when inspections are conducted, their findings are either delayed or lack the necessary detail to hold errant officials to account,” he said.

MCAs, especially the relevant committees, sit on their laurels waiting for problems to occur and then “respond thoughtlessly”.

“Committees have not been proactive in scrutinizing key county projects, budgets and policies. Some only act after problems arise, making it impossible to prevent mismanagement or wastage of public funds,” he added.