Authority issues stern warning to unregistered contractors

By WINSLEY MASESE

KENYA: Managers of construction projects have 60 days to register them, or else their developments will be declared illegal.

The stern warning from the National Construction Authority comes barely two months after four projects under construction collapsed, leading to injuries and loss of lives.

Alarmed by these incidences, and the possibility of a recurrence, the authority has also ordered contractors to register their skilled workers and site supervisors within two months.

Construction project managers have also been given 30 days to put up a signboard – that should be permanently displayed – identifying the contractor and professionals involved in the development, and displaying registration particulars.

“Preliminary investigations in the above sites [where buildings collapsed] indicated that those failures were caused by poor workmanship and construction processes, substandard materials or poor structural designs,” an NCA notice read in part.

The authority also noted that the sites did not have a signboard identifying the contractor or professional consultants engaged in the projects, or have documents confirming building approvals from the respective county governments.

Social crisis

Among the collapsed buildings was a five-storey building at Runyenjes that collapsed, killing one person. The second incident involved the collapse of a roof slab at an industrial development under construction in Thika, where nine construction workers were injured. A factory wall in Nairobi’s Industrial Area also fell, while just this week, a building being demolished within Nairobi’s Central Business District injured three people.

Further investigations by the authority after these incidences found no record of supervision by professionals or county development enforcement officers.

Since its formation in 2011, NCA has embarked on better supervising the construction industry, which has registered impressive growth over the years. The latest raft of rules is the regulator’s most recent efforts to streamline the sector, where a third of contractors are alleged to lack the requisite skills.

Contractors not registered with NCA are liable for a fine of up to Sh1 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or both.

Poor Workmanship

Those who do not abide by the new regulations stand to pay a fine not exceeding Sh100,000 upon the expiry of the grace period. Poor workmanship has been cited as one of the main reasons Kenyan contractors have been unable to compete with Chinese contractors, who have emerged the favourites in the Government’s mega projects.

The former ministry of Public Works accused Kenyan contractors of shoddy work and leaving the Government with massive bills for projects that were not completed. It warned that until such incidences are nipped in the bud, State tenders would remain elusive.