NCA Attributes Rampant Building Collapse to Lack of Coordination

The National Construction Authority (NCA), the agency charged with regulation and coordination of the construction sector, has attributed the rampant collapse of buildings to little coordination among regulatory bodies overseeing different segments of the construction industry.

Cases of buildings collapsing while still under construction, or soon after completion, have been rife in the recent years. This has resulted not only in loss of lives but also draining of millions in investments. Nairobi, which is experiencing a construction boom due to the growing demand in the lower end housing segment, has been the hardest hit.

There are different supervisory entities involved in the construction chain that are independent of the NCA. These include engineers, architects and quantity surveyors. For them, their respective professional bodies regulate them in cases of misconduct and this ultimately leads to a regulatory gap in the construction industry.

To enhance supervision, the various regulatory bodies involved in the various facets of development – engineers, architects, surveyors and NCA – should either come under an umbrella coordinating body or constitute a regulators forum to share information.

For example, the various regulators within the financial services industry – banks, investment managers, retirement schemes and insurers have a Financial Services Regulators Forum to enhance coordination. NCA should lead the formation of such a coordination forum.