Privatising property inspection touted as way to end disasters

Residents mill near the building that collapsed and trapped construction workers on April 2, 2015 behind Thika Road Mall in Roysambu.

What you need to know:

  • Soon after a building collapsed in Makongeni, the National Construction Authority officials went around the city marking out structures that did not meet the required standards. The concrete edifices that were marked were supposedly due for demolition.
  • Unfortunately, that was as far as the exercise went and few if any of the marked structures were brought down.
  • As they sat to discuss the way forward for the industry, Mr Muchemi says that there was only one viable option; that building approvals and inspection processes be privatised, and local authorities only play regulatory roles.

The amount of rain experienced in Nairobi over the past few weeks has been substantial. 

Roads were rendered impassable due to clogged drainage leaving motorists and commuters  stranded. And while all this was happening, a catastrophe struck at South B estate.

At least seven people lost their lives after a mosque perimeter wall collapsed. and once again questions were raised on the safety of newly constructed buildings.  

Six years ago Architectural Association of Kenya official Maxwell Suero predicted the effects of poorly constructed buildings when he said:

“Blood is on the dance floor... Anything can happen and if professionals are not taken seriously, there’ll be more blood on the floor.”

Barely three days after his statement, a five-storey building under construction in Kiambu Town collapsed, killing 16 workers. Since then, the construction industry has been dogged with controversy over poorly constructed buildings and rogue developers.

Soon after a building collapsed in Makongeni, the National Construction Authority officials went around the city marking out structures that did not meet the required standards. The concrete edifices that were marked were supposedly due for demolition.

Unfortunately, that was as far as the exercise went and few if any of the marked structures were brought down.

From the collapse of Kihonge Building in Nairobi back in 2006 to the recent Huruma, Makongeni and Roysambu disasters, it is clear that even buildings under construction are flouting construction rules.

PRIVATISE THE PROCESS

A team to investigate the housing sector — named the Mutua Commission — was formed soon after the collapse of the then Sunbeam Supermarket building on Moi Avenue several years ago.

Similarly, the Kihonge building also attracted a commission of inquiry chaired by Mr Kariuki Muchemi, an engineer.

The commission brought together architects, planners and engineers from both the public and private sectors.

“The common observation from both investigations was that there was total lack of institutional capacity within the then City Council,” says Mr Muchemi.

“This is the case with all local authorities across the country. From our observations, even formation of county governments has not changed the situation,” he says.

Among the findings of the commission of inquiry was that local authorities had low remuneration rates for professionals.

“The counties then could not pay for the professionals therefore they could neither recruit nor retain qualified and experienced building industry professionals,” explains Muchemi.

As they sat to discuss the way forward for the industry, Mr Muchemi says that there was only one viable option; that building approvals and inspection processes be privatised, and local authorities only play regulatory roles.

“The arrangement would be that the local authority would levy a certain approval fee but leave the inspection and supervision to qualified professionals who would be paid set fees by the property developers,” he says.

This, Mr Muchemi says, would ensure that supervision work is undertaken by practitioners who have professional indemnity, insurance, and codes of conduct, making them entirely liable for any shortcomings in the building process. The professional would also certify the works on completion.

The Nairobi County Council has now drafted a policy that, if passed into law, will see inspections and approvals of buildings done through the private sector.

Times, demands, dynamics, challenges and opportunities in the  environment have changed, calling for reform and transformation in the existing approaches in the management of urban development, particularly the construction industry.

The report also touches on institutional challenges specifically statutory gaps, manpower, fiscal and equipment constraints, among others, that bedevil the building sector.

OUTSOURCED SERVICES

Mr Tom Odongo, the executive committee member in the lands, housing and urban planning department at the Nairobi City Council (NCC), says the policy serves as a means of critically assessing pertinent issues relating to buildings inspections.

“There are so many buildings sprouting up in every corner of this city and as a county, we do not have the capacity to serve building inspection due to resource constraints,” he says.

“We agree that there are developers who are taking shortcuts. They are bending the laws and we need to curb this hazard.”

Several measures have also been put in place but the one thing that has not yet been explored is privatisation of the inspection process.

According to Mr Steven Oundo of the National Construction Authority(NCA), it’s a requirement that the workers, the building, and the materials used to put it up are all inspected.

“We have to know if the personnel handling a project are qualified to do so. For instance, we have check if the contractor or site foreman or supervisor are registered,” he explains.

At times, he adds, “some developers want a multi-million construction but still want to avoid the paying the levy it attracts. If the cost of a project is, say, over Sh5 million, it should attract a 0.5 per cent levy. This is something that some will want to avoid paying.”

So, is privatising building inspection the way to go?

“Yes,” says Mr Oundo, who argues that if the inspection of buildings is outsourced, the county will not only tap into resources but also reduce the wage bill.

Being one of the first proponents of outsourcing building inspection services, Mr Muchemi argues that privatisation is viable since there are competent professionals in the building industry.

“In any case, under the current approval process, NCC grants consent for construction but still requires the architects, engineers and contractors to sign an indemnity (security or protection against a loss or other financial burden) that despite the approval they are entirely liable for anything that may go wrong with the project. So to this extent, the building process is still largely in private hands,” says Muchemi.

He also adds that there are too many parties involved in the building process and it is time the entire process was streamlined.

“The involvement of NCC, NCA, National Environment Management Authority (Nema) and others is creating confusion and giving opportunities to unscrupulous officers to frustrate property developers,” says Muchemi.

Property lawyer Mwiti Kaburu agrees that it is time that the country considered outsourcing such crucial services.

“It is noteworthy that in fast growing and changing cities like Nairobi, it can be very difficult for the county government to keep up with the demand for services,” he says.

But what would really be the benefits of privatising this service? According to Mr Kaburu, key among the benefits is improved quality of services and efficiency.

UNREALISTIC MOVE

“Private companies tend to offer high quality services because their contracts are subject to periodic review and renewal,” he explains.

According to the recommendation passed by Mr Muchemi’s commission, the privatisation process should be a two-stage affair “where approval is granted by the County Government at a fee but the inspection would be outsourced and charges would be paid by the property developer.”

Although many may be wary of corruption in the bidding process of the service, Kaburu says that if it is transparent, then services will be entrusted to competent contractors, hence better value for public money.

He also notes that there will be great reduction in cases of corruption during building approval.

“In most cases privatisation promotes accountability and offers a guarantee that the services will be offered.”

Privatisation of building inspection and approval has been successful in countries like Malaysia and Singapore. However, in other countries, the process has been opposed. In South Africa, city planners have argued that the move is unrealistic.

“We need to be very realistic about what there is that you can outsource. I am sure someone can come and be very creative about that sort of tender, but at the end of it all I think we need to be very careful about how we own our information and how we own our own decision-making, because if we don’t own our own decision-making then we are going to be in very big trouble,” said Mr Nkateko Shipalana, the Assistant Director of Metro Planning in the City of Johannesburg.

But locally, Mr Muchemi believes that the process will ensure that the county government does not maintain a large pool of non-performing staff, but only a lean regulatory team.

“The prayers of all players in the building industry is that there is political will to privatise the building process.  This is the only way to go if we are going to progress as a nation,” concludes Muchemi.

 **********

 

Approval fee 

The arrangement would be that the local authority would levy a certain approval fee but leave the inspection and supervision to qualified professionals who would be paid set fees by the property developers. 

— Kariuki Muchemi, Engineer