The State Department for Public Works led by the Principal Secretary (PS), Mr. Joel Arumonyang has assured the Committee on Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works that only registered and qualified individuals will be allowed to operate in Kenya’s construction industry in an effort to reduce the rising cases of building collapses should the proposed National Construction (Amendment) Bill, 2025 sail through.

The proposed Bill by the State Department for Public Works seeks to change and strengthen the existing National Construction Authority (NCA) Act (Cap 118) and make Kenya’s construction sector more environmentally friendly, climate-resilient while expanding the role of the NCA.

In a session with the Public Works Department, the Committee led by the Vice Chairperson, Hon. RindikiriMugambi took to task the Department to explain the causes of the building collapses in Kenya.

“This Committee will give a response to the floor of the House over the concern of collapsing of buildings in Kenya. Can you explain to us the causes and who is in charge of material testing?” asked Hon. Rindikiri.

The NCA Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Eng. Maurice Aketch identified weak concrete as the main cause, noting that the concrete carries the weight of the building and that when weak, the structure will be unsafe.

He also cited weak reinforcement is another contributing factor and said the Authority will ensure construction material are tested to ensure they meet the required standards.

“Most developers skip consultants such Architects, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors during the construction period and yet they play a critical role during the construction phase by ensuring the project is built safely and according to approved plans,” Eng. Aketch noted.

The Head of Legal at NCA, Mr. Samson Lukobaemphasised that the proposed NCA (Amendment) Bill, 2025 will address the challenges in the construction industry.

“The proposals in earnest seeks to define the contracting entity, local contractor, foreign contractor, players in the Construction industry, skilled construction worker and a supplier to ensure clarity on the role of various players in the Act,” Mr. Lukoba said.

He told the Committee that the Principal Act will be amended to insert new sections immediately after section 18, to state that, “a person who makes an application under sub section (1) shall satisfy the Authority that the person has minimum technical qualifications, skills, work experience, plants and equipment prescribed under this Act for the respective class of construction works,” he explained.

He further added that there will be explicit guidance on the registration of the foreign entities incorporated in Kenya and that fines will be imposed for non compliance.

PS Arumonyang decried lack of funding on industry related research on architectural and quantity surveying practice and support on technologies, systems and building materials, stating that the Department needs adequate funding to help address non compliance of building standards and regulations by both private and private developers.

On budgetary support, Hon. Rindikiri assured the State Department for the Committee’s support, “As a Committee we won’t let Public Works go down. At the moment we may not do much in the Supplementary Estimates no. 1 for the FY 2025/26 but we will try our best in the next annual budget,” he said.

He however asked for the statistics of the collapsed buildings across the country to help the committee prepare its report to the House.

“Avail the statistics so that we may know the region that buildings are collapsing more to help us make a conclusion and prepare our report,” Hon. Rindikiri said.

The Committee urged the State Department for Public Works to work with all players in the built industry to ensure that the issue of collapse of buildings becomes a thing of the past.