There is anxiety, confusion and anger at the City County Assembly following reports that a number of MCAs have mooted plans to kickstart “regularisation” of unauthorised and illegal developments constructed by property developers in the last few years.
A copy of a draft Nairobi City County Regularization of Unauthorised Development Bill sponsored by Hon.Alvin Palapala proposes that all unauthorised developments commenced or completed before the date of commencement of the proposed Act be regularised and that no unauthorised development should henceforth be demolished.
The proposed law is said to be on its way for tabling in the county assembly any time and this will be a big setback against the safety and security of buildings in the City and also against the cries by city residents that irregular developments in several areas including Kilimani,Lavington, Kileleshwa, Parklands and South B and C be demolished and the land restored to its original condition.
The mover of the bill and which according to our sources at City Hall is sponsored by senior members of the Built Environment and Land Use Planning Committee together with “not more than 100 people from a certain community who have literally taken over housing sector in the city and adjoining counties” says that there have been unauthorised developments in the City on a large scale and that since these developments are liable to be removed and pulled down, “removal and pulling down if such unauthorised developments will cause hardship to a large number of people”.
Currently, Section 57 the Physical and Land Use Planning Act says that any development which was not approved by County’s Executive Committee Member must be demolished and the land restored to its original condition.
The move to regularise irregular developments comes at a time when hundreds of people have lost lives and properties following collapsed if poorly and unproffesinally constructed buildings in Nairobi and elsewhere. At the international level, it has been revealed that the thousands of buildings which collapsed following the Turkey and Syria earthquake disaster because they were developed against the country’s planning and development laws and policy yet the respective goverments passed laws that regularised those developments.
