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The provision of quality and affordable housing is an important subject. Its importance becomes quite explicit if one takes a closer look at the policy and practical levels at which the subject is discussed.
At the global level, one will find the subject placed at the table of no lesser agency than the UN Habitat. Here questions on housing policies, housing rights, appropriate technologies, housing standards, housing costs, services and many others receive attention.
At the national government level, the subject is placed under the ministry of Housing. Here again, diverse policy issues are dealt with.
Specific projects and programmes are designed to tackle the prioritised housing issues like slum upgrading, civil servants housing, building survey and maintenance, infrastructure provision and housing finance.
At the local government level, the same subject will fall under a committee and a department. In most of the forums where all these
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authorities participate, the question of development of building codes that are responsive to the numerous challenges encountered in actual delivery of houses remains prominent.
The rigid specifications of what an appropriate house comprises is usually cited as a serious hindrance to upgrading of informal settlements.
Those engaged in seeking innovative technologies to beat the challenge of rising costs of building materials always face problems in having their designs and building units approved by local authorities for no other reason than rigid building code.
The standards are always cited by the approving officials while citizens remain poorly housed. Can you imagine that a house constructed of timber walling is considered as not meeting the standards that warrant approval by the City Council of Nairobi while more than half of the population lives in slums built of lesser quality material? Should a developer defy the “standards” and proceed to put up an estate using cheaper materials acceptable in other cities, without the
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consent of the city planning department, such development would be demolished with zeal. The penalties that would follow can only be described as severe.
In the meantime, the statistics of the ever growing housing supply deficit would continue to be flagged at every meeting and action promised in all speeches made by the responsible officials at various levels.
Stakeholders in the housing industry have been seeking for appropriate action by the responsible authorities for a long time.
Two years ago, their hopes were raised by an initiative by the ministry of Housing to set up a taskforce that would draw up a new building code.
The amazing thing is that despite the huge amount of financial and technical resources employed in the process, no new building code has been brought into effect.
Can somebody be accountable enough and make overt the whereabouts of the new building code?
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