Mombasa County Senator Mohamed Faki has requested a statement from the Standing Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing on a matter of county-wide concern regarding the capacity of the county government of Mombasa to issue building permits and supervise construction sites.
Speaking in the Senate, Faki said the current boom in multi-story property development in Mombasa is being undertaken without due regard for the availability of the requisite infrastructure, such as water, sewerage, electricity, road networks, calling to question the capacity of the County Government of Mombasa to issue building permits.
This comes a day after the demolition of a 10-story building in Corner ya Kilifi area in Mombasa County.
Faki now wants the committee to address a number of issues including the number of approvals granted by the County Government of Mombasa for the construction of multi-storey buildings between August 2022 and March 2025, including the applicable charges for each approval.
The Mombasa Senator also wants the committee to highlight the number of civil engineers, physical planners, building inspectors currently employed by the County Government of Mombasa and whether the personnel are adequate for the effective discharge of their duties.
According to the Senator, the concerned developer had submitted and was granted approval for plans for a six-story building, but disregarded the approved plans.
“This illegal action by the developers escaped the attention of the county government of Mombasa, raising concerns about the effectiveness of their supervision of construction site by the county government,” said Faki.
Additionally, he wants the committee to list the steps being taken to strengthen the supervision and monitoring of construction projects to ensure strict adherence to approved building plans and to prevent unauthorized deviations.
Finally, Faki wants the committee to address the strategies being pursued by the County Government of Mombasa to match development of multistory buildings with development in other essential infrastructure, such as water, sewage, electricity, and road networks.
On the 3rd of April 2025, a 10-storey building was reported to be collapsing and as a result emergency services were mobilized to address the anticipated disaster.
Yesterday the demolition of the building was undertaken by the KDF with the assistance of the Emergency Services, National Youth Service, and the County of Government Mombasa and the police.