Mudavadi maintains stand on demolition

Written By:Halligan Agade,    Posted: Thu, Jun 23, 2011

Recent incidents of collapsed buildings causing death has seen the Local Government Ministry put investors on high alert

Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Local Government Musalia Mudavadi has insisted that houses which do not meet the buildings code must be brought down.

This is even after his counterpart the Public Health and Sanitation Minister Beth Mugo appealed to him that the houses should not be demolished but be renovated.

On Wednesday, Embakasi legislator Ferdinand Waititu led his constituents in resisting a move by the city council to execute the Minister's orders of marking the buildings for demolition.

Council officials were forced to abort their intended mission of touring the Embakasi constituency and identifying the substandard buildings for demolition, when Waititu showed up with rowdy youth.

Minister Beth Mugo insists that the buildings which are crumbling are the ones under construction and that there is no need to demolish the old ones, currently under occupation.

And just like Waititu, Mugo argues that the investors should be cushioned and that such a move is likely to skyrocket poverty levels in the city.

However Mudavadi did not mince his words as he disagreed with the two, saying that buildings have collapsed in Kiambu and Mombasa as well and they will not allow greedy real estate developers to play with the dignity of human life.

He hit out at Wednesday's resistance by the Embakasi constituents on the intended auditing of the buildings saying his officials will not stomach a repeat of the same.

Mudavadi says soon they will launch a hotline number at the Nairobi City Council which will be used by citizens to alert the council officials on any building construction work that poses danger.