Nairobi County has ordered an audit of all buildings constructed within the city in the last two years to establish their compliance with the regulations in an exercise that will also target plans approved but for which projects are yet to commence.
In a dispatch signed by county public service head Patrick Akivaga, the devolved unit has invited the participation of stakeholders, including representatives of professional bodies and regulatory agencies, as it embarks on the task.
The county has requested six entities to forward the names of two professionals each, who will form the 12-member multi-agency committee that will undertake the review and submit a report for implementation.
Among the participating agencies are the National Environment Management Authority, the National Construction Authority, the Institute of Engineers of Kenya, and the Architectural Association of Kenya.
Others are the Kenya Institute of Planners and the Town & County Planners Association of Kenya.
“The purpose of this letter is to request that you forward the names of two professionals from your organisation to be part of the committee,” Mr Akivaga told the heads of the selected entities in a letter.
“The multi-agency committee will be tasked to undertake the review and conclude within 30 to 60 days and submit a comprehensive report for implementation. We would be expecting to hear from you latest May 10, 2024, to commence in the week starting May 13, 2024.”
The audit announcement comes just weeks after governor Johnson Sakaja halted all building development approvals to give room for a fresh review.
“All building development approvals have been halted for now until we can review all those that have been issued and are continuing in the city,” Sakaja told journalists on April 24.
Earlier last month, the governor declared that the construction of high-rise apartments in the city’s posh neighbourhoods of Kileleshwa and Lavington would not stop despite public uproar.
The pronouncement stirred controversy as at least 26 professional and resident associations threatened to seek legal redress if the county failed to suspend the plan.
Sakaja has however remained adamant that the county will not walk back on the proposal arguing that the land in Nairobi is increasingly shrinking in the wake of a growing population.
