Kajiado resident associations to consent to building approvals

Kajiado Lands CEC Member, Hamilton Parseina ( left) shares a copy of the new Zoning Plan for the 600 members Muigai Prestige estate in Kitengela on Dec 8, 2024. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

Building approvals within municipalities in Kajiado County will only be issued after respective resident associations have consented.

Lands and Physical Planning CEC Hamilton Parseina on Sunday said the residents' associations are critical in identifying rogue developers who put up structures in the wrong places.

According to Parseina, the municipalities are facing expansion threats as a result of population expulsion within the Nairobi metropolis, and that is why there is a need for checks and balances.

While launching the Local Physical and Land Use Development Plan (2024-2029) for the Muigai Prestige estate in Kitengela, the Lands CEC asserted that errors of planning in the past must be corrected.

"The tragedy is that we develop then plan. It should be the other way around. Unfortunately, some investors will invest their resources for serenity only to be ambushed by illegal structures. We must make our urban areas livable," said Parseina.

Muigai Prestige Residents Association (MPERA) chairman, Davis Ogega, welcomed the county government's move to implement the new land use plan.

"We consulted with the devolved unit extensively and we are in agreement the Plan protects home investors in the expansive middle-class estate of 600 families from illegal developments," said Ogega.

He lauded the county government for supporting their desire to improve the quality of life for residents and promised that they had set aside land for public utilities including a police station.