Why wait for building tragedies to occur?

Let me first take this opportunity to send my heartfelt condolences to the families and relatives of those who lost their loved ones following the collapse of a building in Huruma. I also wish those who were injured a quick recovery.

When I heard about the tragedy, the first question that came to my mind was: for how long shall we continue to lose lives of innocent Kenyans due to causes that could be avoided?

It is worth noting that so far, the country has lost more than 100 Kenyans in such incidents. Whenever these disasters occur, mostly during the rainy season, the fingers are always pointed at landlords and authorities.

To calm the situation, the Government usually moves with speed to arrest and arraign the suspects in court, where they face charges of manslaughter and abuse of office among others.

The hype of these cases is usually short-lived. It is only felt during the mourning period and when the rescue mission is in progress. During this period, politicians from both sides turn up to console the bereaved families, offer humanitarian support to survivors and engage in blame game.

Others capitalise on the tragedies to strengthen and boost their political ambitions.

However, the big question is - when is the country going to be free from these avoidable tragedies?

The law is very clear on how those involved in endangering the lives of Kenyans through construction of sub-standard buildings should be dealt with.

However, vices such as corruption, and political patronage are listed as the main stumbling blocks in addressing this problem.

The responsibility to ensure that landlords and contractors adhere to the stipulated safety standards lies with both the county and national governments.

The new laws, however, vest more powers on the county administration because no construction should take place without the approval of their civil engineers.

For this reason, one would expect the two levels of government to co-operate and work closely in ensuring the condemned buildings are demolished.

It is worth noting that some of the buildings in Huruma had been marked ‘X’, meaning they were supposed to be brought down long time ago.

If those entrusted with safety measures performed their duties professionally, how come they failed to lead the operations to demolish these buildings?

Why do you wait for a tragedy to happen? For now, it appears the Nairobi county government has woken up.