By Isaac Nasong’o Wanyonyi
The fresh revelation about the collapsed building in Embakasi is not just shocking but worrying.
In fact, what is worrying is that it is only after the building collapsed, killing three masons that the city council architects and the city council teams revealed that its construction had not followed the correct construction procedures necessitated by the council architects.
To make it worse, the same architects revealed that most of the buildings in the area are not built in line with the council requirements.
Question is, shall the council be waiting for such tragedies to occur before they can act in ensuring public safety?
This is not the first time the council architects are revealing such sad news. It is remembered that in 2004, when another building along Ronald Ngala Street collapsed, the case was the same.
Buildings under construction are so visible that it does not need a hawk eye to detect them. If the city council askaris can spot a kiosk on the wrong location, what does it take to discover a high-rise building and inquire on the approves by the council from the owner?
While watching news yesterday, I could not help a tear drop from my eyes when I though of these poor Kenyans who had left their families in the morning in a bid to try make ends meet only to be brought to a halt by mistake made by the council’s negligence.
It is evident that the council askaris are quick at dealing with the small fish in the city, the small kiosk owners and the hawker yet the big fish in the society are wielding the untouchable shield.
Many are the times when the city council askaris are spotted chasing after people who sit on the flower pots in the city and the innocent lad spotting slippers in the city yet the most important duties affecting the citizens safety lay in the hands of their pot bellied bosses.
The department of city planning should wake up and do a survey on all the buildings rather than wait for tragedies to prompt them into action while Kenyans are in pain.
Although I am tempted to claim corruption allegation to the architects, I fail to understand where and by what means the owner of the building got the go-ahead build the six storey house.
If claims by the council architects are true, where have they been for all this time to discover that most of the buildings around that area are not safe and were built without their authority?
That being the case, then we are sitting on a timed bomb that will erupt at any moment if corrective measures are not taken this early.
The council should take a proper analysis of the buildings in the city to ensure the citizens security and safety.
In short, there are fundamental aspects of construction that are not being correctly followed and maybe there is a loophole in the way this docket is being run by the council.
Unscrupulous business people I suppose have taken this advantage to go away with it since there and make great savings thus losses to the council.
This loophole should be sealed so that the city dwellers safety is guaranteed.
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