Lamu County Government is set to crack down on substandard buildings, following concerns raised by senior public works officials, over an increase in unauthorized construction works across the Island.
These concerns come in the wake of the collapse of six houses within Lamu Island’s Satellite area, in which at least four people were injured in November last year.
Lamu County, County Executive Committe Member Lands, Roads, Infrastructure, Public Works, Water and Natural Resources,Tashrifa Bakari Mohammed, stated that the crackdown is aimed at clamping down on unscrupulous construction contractors who build without the requisite permits.
“Despite the County Government and the National Government through the National Construction Authority, issuing several notices to some buildings across Amu Island where construction works are underway, a few of them seem not to be keen to adhere to the regulations put in place,” she stated.
Further, she decried the flagrant construction works on some balconies that were even going on right underneath electrical lines, which she added presented a hazardous living situation for the occupants of those homes once construction works are completed.
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“The County Government will from next month carry out a comprehensive audit of all the construction works being undertaken across Lamu, to ensure that no substandard buildings come up or are occupied,” Tashrifa said.
Additionally, the CEC said the crackdown would enable the County Government to enhance its Urban Planning Policy within the Lamu Municipality area, which she said the current administration was keen to address.
On his part, Senior County Public Works Officer, Engineer James Githui said some of the buildings are being reinforced from their foundations and two storey, or sometimes even three storey buildings, built on top of these poor foundations, is presenting a cause for concern, especially if these houses are then put up for sale to unsuspecting buyers.
He further reiterated that those found liable of flouting building regulations, face heavy fines for building substandard buildings.
Engineer Githui observed that several Lamu residents are living in substandard houses, some of which look up to standard, but are subpar, with the buildings rife with poor piping, electrical connectivity and suspect stairway heights.
Public works officials have also noted that some of the new residences being built are not attached to any architectural plans, with the Lamu Municipality sometimes being left out of the approval process, despite developers getting on site.
