Buildings that collapse

[Georgesoros]

• Tweet

Do owners have insurance?
I think it should be mandatory to have construction insurance in cities. THis way insurance will ensure code compliance.
Imagine how many people will be catastrophically affected both financially and medically for the rest of their lives

http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/04/30/cries-heard-as-rescuers-search-rubble-of-huruma-building-at-least-10_c1342386

[Omollo]

Much as buildings collapse everywhere, I must ask this question: Why so many in Nairobi and Kiambu?

Do owners have insurance?
I think it should be mandatory to have construction insurance in cities. THis way insurance will ensure code compliance.
Imagine how many people will be catastrophically affected both financially and medically for the rest of their lives

http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/04/30/cries-heard-as-rescuers-search-rubble-of-huruma-building-at-least-10_c1342386

[Georgesoros]

Quick money.
Hire shoddy people and hurry them up so that they can start making
Money." Greed is good" - Wall Street.
And to make matters worse the county building dept is asleep.

[Georgesoros]

He gave the orders after National Construction Authority said they condemned the house but the directive to demolish it was ignored.

Why didn't the authority go to court and have the building condemned? The manager of this authority should be fired for not doing their job..

[Omollo]

Quick money.
Hire shoddy people and hurry them up so that they can start making
Money." Greed is good" - Wall Street.
And to make matters worse the county building dept is asleep.

Somebody starting preparing to put up a tall building near my adopted home at the Coast. I got wind of the plans and put down my foot. I went to NEMA and to the County offices etc.

Nothing happened. The construction went on. The owner stopped talking to me and his workers spat as I drove past.

I went back to these entities to ask what they had found and what action they had taken. They gave me the same response They could not locate the site. No matter how well I explained they just took me in cycles. I finally went to the car, grabbed my laptop and finding the location on Google Maps printed it out for them. I made a copy for NEMA too. It did not help.

Finally I met one of the official soaking drunk. He told me to my face that: You are against development.

I then figured it all out. My complaint was a huge blank cheque. NEMA people got their cut as did the County thieves.

[Georgesoros]

Lol...
Was this a flood zone?

Quick money.
Hire shoddy people and hurry them up so that they can start making
Money." Greed is good" - Wall Street.
And to make matters worse the county building dept is asleep.

Somebody starting preparing to put up a tall building near my adopted home at the Coast. I got wind of the plans and put down my foot. I went to NEMA and to the County offices etc.

Nothing happened. The construction went on. The owner stopped talking to me and his workers spat as I drove past.

I went back to these entities to ask what they had found and what action they had taken. They gave me the same response They could not locate the site. No matter how well I explained they just took me in cycles. I finally went to the car, grabbed my laptop and finding the location on Google Maps printed it out for them. I made a copy for NEMA too. It did not help.

Finally I met one of the official soaking drunk. He told me to my face that: You are against development.

I then figured it all out. My complaint was a huge blank cheque. NEMA people got their cut as did the County thieves.

[yulemsee]

Quick money.
Hire shoddy people and hurry them up so that they can start making
Money." Greed is good" - Wall Street.
And to make matters worse the county building dept is asleep.

Somebody starting preparing to put up a tall building near my adopted home at the Coast. I got wind of the plans and put down my foot. I went to NEMA and to the County offices etc.

Nothing happened. The construction went on. The owner stopped talking to me and his workers spat as I drove past.

I went back to these entities to ask what they had found and what action they had taken. They gave me the same response They could not locate the site. No matter how well I explained they just took me in cycles. I finally went to the car, grabbed my laptop and finding the location on Google Maps printed it out for them. I made a copy for NEMA too. It did not help.

Finally I met one of the official soaking drunk. He told me to my face that: You are against development.

I then figured it all out. My complaint was a huge blank cheque. NEMA people got their cut as did the County thieves.

What exactly was your case, was it a height restriction thing?

[gout]

Nobody gets punished as long as they have enough money to go around the criminal justice system.

I remember dramatic arrest of Jimmy Kihonge in 2006 after collapse of his building. The trail ran cold and now he is collecting million in rent. To hell with those who died, got injured as long as police, prosecutor, court clerk, magistrate, nosy witness are taken care of.

From fundi, mjengo guys bent on stealing materials, buying substandard cheaper materials to the clueless or disinterested foreman; to chief allocating any swamp or river bed; incapacitated kanjo, NCA only interested in their few thousands per floor to Kidero taking his 10% for plan approvals (i it ever is submitted) the slum dwellers can only pray to their gods that it doesn't happen to them .

[Georgesoros]

And has anyone ever sued the owner, contractors, etc?
Or they are too poor.

Nobody gets punished as long as they have enough money to go around the criminal justice system.

I remember dramatic arrest of Jimmy Kihonge in 2006 after collapse of his building. The trail ran cold and now he is collecting million in rent. To hell with those who died, got injured as long as police, prosecutor, court clerk, magistrate, nosy witness are taken care of.

From fundi, mjengo guys bent on stealing materials, buying substandard cheaper materials to the clueless or disinterested foreman; to chief allocating any swamp or river bed; incapacitated kanjo, NCA only interested in their few thousands per floor to Kidero taking his 10% for plan approvals (i it ever is submitted) the slum dwellers can only pray to their gods that it doesn't happen to them .

[Nefertiti]

The buck stops with Kidero. I saw him on TV with stammering. Unconvincing. He emits a mix of guilt and incompetence.

[RVtitem]

The buck stops with Kidero. I saw him on TV with stammering. Unconvincing. He emits a mix of guilt and incompetence.

Really??
what do you say about GEMA mafia that is behind current chaos in building and public transportation sector?

http://nairobiwire.com/2014/05/uhuru-saves-day-winners-chapel-diamond-park-estate-almost-demolished.html

[Georgesoros]

The buck stops with Kidero. I saw him on TV with stammering. Unconvincing. He emits a mix of guilt and incompetence.

Really??
what do you say about GEMA mafia that is behind current chaos in building and public transportation sector?

http://nairobiwire.com/2014/05/uhuru-saves-day-winners-chapel-diamond-park-estate-almost-demolished.html

If Kidero were a law abiding man he should call him out on this interference.

[Nefertiti]

City housing has an inspection department at City Hall. Kidero is quite a disappointment compared to his vantage position viz other counties. He should be setting the pace with all the hanging fruits. We need a super-Mutua for Nairobi.

[Reticent Solipsist]

This sad disaster in Huruma brought to the fore the fact that Kenya has been ruled by incompetent leaders since the country attained its independence. Every president from Jomo and on to Uhuru has found it incredibly easy to appeal to and exploit the ignorance of the Kenyan citizen.

So, Uhuru struts into the slums of Huruma accompanied by his flunkies and a few minutes later ... Abracadabra....they have a villain ...and it's....oh...well...cos of corruption....eh...in the county government of...the ...opposition led by....Kidero, who is in the party...Hope you get my drift.

I spent part of my early years in that city and can't recall experiencing these perennial floods. Someone I know who has lived there since the colonial days concurs that floodings in Nairobi were quite rare. And in the colonial city council corruption was at a minimum and there was barely any grabbing of public spaces and land -- least of all in riparian areas. I, too, recall a Nairobi of weekly garbage collection and where maintenance standards were adhered to, including the sewer/drain storms those colonials bequeathed the NCC in '63. But back to the point.

From, say, post-independence Kenya, 1964 onwards, it became a free-for-all. To explain Huruma 2016, one ought to check the archives to figure out who has served as Nairobi Mayor, City Councillor, or administrator during that period. Include also the Moi appointed Nairobi City Commission of the 80s to early 90s. Names like Rubia, Margaret Kenyatta, Ngumba, Gumo, Waweru, etc, reign supreme. And prominent here, too, is one of Nairobi's most prominent land owners and property developers, G. Kirima aka Deputy Mayor.

In this episode I read somewhere that the two brothers who own this building inherited it as part of the estate of their late father who died in 1997.

Not to absolve Kidero of blame, but it's clear that these brothers and their father got access to this land way back -- so who was doling out land titles and licenses literally on a river bed?

[mya88]

This sad disaster in Huruma brought to the fore the fact that Kenya has been ruled by incompetent leaders since the country attained its independence. Every president from Jomo and on to Uhuru has found it incredibly easy to appeal to and exploit the ignorance of the Kenyan citizen.

So, Uhuru struts into the slums of Huruma accompanied by his flunkies and a few minutes later ... Abracadabra....they have a villain ...and it's....oh...well...cos of corruption....eh...in the county government of...the ...opposition led by....Kidero, who is in the party...Hope you get my drift.

I spent part of my early years in that city and can't recall experiencing these perennial floods. Someone I know who has lived there since the colonial days concurs that floodings in Nairobi were quite rare. And in the colonial city council corruption was at a minimum and there was barely any grabbing of public spaces and land -- least of all in riparian areas. I, too, recall a Nairobi of weekly garbage collection and where maintenance standards were adhered to, including the sewer/drain storms those colonials bequeathed the NCC in '63. But back to the point.

From, say, post-independence Kenya, 1964 onwards, it became a free-for-all. To explain Huruma 2016, one ought to check the archives to figure out who has served as Nairobi Mayor, City Councillor, or administrator during that period. Include also the Moi appointed Nairobi City Commission of the 80s to early 90s. Names like Rubia, Margaret Kenyatta, Ngumba, Gumo, Waweru, etc, reign supreme. And prominent here, too, is one of Nairobi's most prominent land owners and property developers, G. Kirima aka Deputy Mayor.

In this episode I read somewhere that the two brothers who own this building inherited it as part of the estate of their late father who died in 1997.

Not to absolve Kidero of blame, but it's clear that these brothers and their father got access to this land way back -- so who was doling out land titles and licenses literally on a river bed?

Saw that on TV and wondered.......what was his point in strutting down there as if he cared ....when he does nothing about it (Sic). Up until Moi era there was some sort of order in Nairobi, especially Eastland's. Garbage was collected, public transport was stable, schools were stable and you could not build permanent extensions on most of those houses. Last time I went there people are building and expanding everywhere to the point of closing foot paths, all the way to the bus top.

[Reticent Solipsist]

This sad disaster in Huruma brought to the fore the fact that Kenya has been ruled by incompetent leaders since the country attained its independence. Every president from Jomo and on to Uhuru has found it incredibly easy to appeal to and exploit the ignorance of the Kenyan citizen.

So, Uhuru struts into the slums of Huruma accompanied by his flunkies and a few minutes later ... Abracadabra....they have a villain ...and it's....oh...well...cos of corruption....eh...in the county government of...the ...opposition led by....Kidero, who is in the party...Hope you get my drift.

I spent part of my early years in that city and can't recall experiencing these perennial floods. Someone I know who has lived there since the colonial days concurs that floodings in Nairobi were quite rare. And in the colonial city council corruption was at a minimum and there was barely any grabbing of public spaces and land -- least of all in riparian areas. I, too, recall a Nairobi of weekly garbage collection and where maintenance standards were adhered to, including the sewer/drain storms those colonials bequeathed the NCC in '63. But back to the point.

From, say, post-independence Kenya, 1964 onwards, it became a free-for-all. To explain Huruma 2016, one ought to check the archives to figure out who has served as Nairobi Mayor, City Councillor, or administrator during that period. Include also the Moi appointed Nairobi City Commission of the 80s to early 90s. Names like Rubia, Margaret Kenyatta, Ngumba, Gumo, Waweru, etc, reign supreme. And prominent here, too, is one of Nairobi's most prominent land owners and property developers, G. Kirima aka Deputy Mayor.

In this episode I read somewhere that the two brothers who own this building inherited it as part of the estate of their late father who died in 1997.

Not to absolve Kidero of blame, but it's clear that these brothers and their father got access to this land way back -- so who was doling out land titles and licenses literally on a river bed?

Saw that on TV and wondered.......what was his point in strutting down there as if he cared ....when he does nothing about it (Sic). Up until Moi era there was some sort of order in Nairobi, especially Eastland's. Garbage was collected, public transport was stable, schools were stable and you could not build permanent extensions on most of those houses. Last time I went there people are building and expanding everywhere to the point of closing foot paths, all the way to the bus top.

mya88 -

You nailed it. My late father would always remind me that people's behaviors and tendencies tend to be a reflection of who they are and the company they keep: Show me a man's friend, and I can tell you their character.

So, when you see Uhuru revelling in the company of the uber tribalist Moses Kuria one is no longer in doubt where is heart lies. Or when he's chilling out with his BFF the brass-knuckled street fighter Waititu. And he must be engrossed in deep intellectual discussions on export diversification in Kenya and the EAC region when he's with Sonko.

Kenya, in general, and Nairobi particularly inherited a decent base from the Brits. I always find it dishonest when Kenyans lament the fact that colonialism imposed upon them a mode of development that was western in orientation. Yes, and very true is always my retort. Plus, I always add the Brits left behind a blueprint, an emulative process, if you will, for independent Kenya of how institutions work (or should work). One of these was urban planning. For Nairobi, they left behind elaborate plans for sewerage and storm drain systems; that there should be ample facilities and land for garbage disposal (garbage collection was done on a weekly basis); streams and rivers -- example Matumbato stream had their natural flows until assorted Mayors and the big men Jomo and Moi saw it fit to reward supplicants with land (Matunda ya Uhuru per Kenyatta), including in watershed areas , and so on.

The point I was making is that the problems at Huruma were not a function of the floods in isolation but were precipitated by a myriad of factors social and political. These processes and their economic implications, have been on-going and definitely precede Kidero even as he's contributed somewhat, mostly by omission.

[MOON Ki]

This doesn't seem like a very bright idea (in how to bring down a multi-storey building):


http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/nairobi/County-first-ladies-visit-Huruma-victims/-/1954174/3196056/-/125n51s/-/index.html

[mya88]

The point I was making is that the problems at Huruma were not a function of the floods in isolation but were precipitated by a myriad of factors social and political. These processes and their economic implications, have been on-going and definitely precede Kidero even as he's contributed somewhat, mostly by omission.

[Reticent Solipsist]

This doesn't seem like a very bright idea (in how to bring down a multi-storey building):


http://www.nation.co.ke/counties/nairobi/County-first-ladies-visit-Huruma-victims/-/1954174/3196056/-/125n51s/-/index.html

MOON Ki,

I was thinking exactly the same thing when I saw that photo. Perhaps they haven't heard of controlled demolition.

[Reticent Solipsist]

The point I was making is that the problems at Huruma were not a function of the floods in isolation but were precipitated by a myriad of factors social and political. These processes and their economic implications, have been on-going and definitely precede Kidero even as he's contributed somewhat, mostly by omission.

mya88,

On Kidero, I concur. His is an apt case of regression to the mean, that is, he's following the well trodden path of his predecessors at City Hall. Conversely, I could also make the case that Nairobi is inhabited by mediocre folk who vote in mediocre leaders. I read somewhere that the buffoonish and immature Sonko was considering a run for Gov. So, let's see...if I were a Nairobizen faced with a choice between either Kidero or Sonko ... no-brainer, Kidero it'd be; at least he's redeemable.

That said, to truly be among the great cities of the world, Nairobi will have to improve on some of those basic things you noted, including housing and public spaces (also serve as social spaces) for lower middle income and poor people. In addition, I'd suggest they -- County and national governments -- plan for the following: garbage and recycling center (Dandora is limited); sewerage system; clean-up the filthy Nairobi River; create a system of canals and reservoirs to divert the water flows, especially during floods. Other cities have planned and implemented similar things and so can Nairobi.