Ward reps demand plan for buildings on wetland

What you need to know:

  • The buildings stand on a one-and-a-half acre where Mutuini-Ngong River cuts across.
  • Engineers at the site told the county assembly team that the lawmaker intends to turn the building, which began in 2013, into a hotel.

A developer who is putting up buildings on a wetland on Lang’ata Road in Nairobi has been ordered to give the county assembly the construction plan and other relevant documents.

When Speaker Alex ole Magelo and MCAs visited to the site on Tuesday, they wondered who allowed the developer to construct buildings on the wetland.

The buildings stand on a one-and-a-half acre where Mutuini-Ngong River cuts across.

The ward reps and the Speaker went to the site to ascertain if anything has been done to avert flooding during the El Niño rains, which have already started in the City.

In May, massive flooding was experienced on Lang’ata Road and South C estate after the river burst its banks.

This happened because several structures have been erected on the river’s riparian land including the property owned by an MP.

An engineer admitted to Mr Magelo and his team that the contractor has diverted the river, changing its course.

“We are standing on a river, this is a wetland. The place is not fit for construction,” said Mr Magelo.

In an earlier interview, the MP said that he bought the property in 2008 from another party he declined to disclose.

Engineers at the site told the county assembly team that the lawmaker intends to turn the building, which began in 2013, into a hotel.

DOCUMENTS FOR SCRUTINY

The leaders were told that City Hall and the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) approved the construction.

Mr Magelo’s team sought to find out what the plot was earmarked for.

The Speaker asked the assembly’s planning committee to get the old map of Nairobi to establish if the property was meant to be private or public.

He asked the same team, which toured the site to scrutinise the documents, which include the building plan (architectural and structural plans), approvals by City Hall and the Environmental Impact Assessment report by Nema.

The MCAs recalled that the county executive in charge of Housing, Lands and Physical Planning, Mr Tom Odongo had visited the place in May when the area had flooded.

They said that he asked the developer to stop the construction work. But the construction has still been going. When the county assembly team arrived, it found the contractor and his group working on the project.

The documents, Mr Magelo said, would be taken to the floor of the assembly for discussion.