Members of the Nairobi County Assembly Planning Committee addressing the press/HANDOUT

Members of the Nairobi County Assembly Planning Committee have urged Governor Johnson Sakaja to review the county’s planning department and the process of issuing construction approvals.

Speaking to the press, Nairobi South MCA and Deputy Minority Leader Waithera Chege said the governor should investigate cases where approvals may be issued by officers who are not mandated to do so.

“The law dictates that the CEC in charge of planning is the one to issue approvals. Communication should be done by director, planning,” Chege said.

She said the county administration should ensure that the responsibilities of officials involved in planning and approval processes are clearly defined and followed.

The committee members said reforms were necessary to improve the department’s operations and ensure that construction approvals and enforcement of regulations were properly handled.

Baba Dogo MCA Geoffrey Majiwa also raised concerns about the department’s supervisory structure, saying there were instances where junior officers supervised senior officers. He urged the county administration to look into the matter.

The MCAs said addressing these concerns would help improve accountability and coordination within the planning department.

Their calls came after a building under construction along 1st Avenue, 9th Street, in Eastleigh, Nairobi, collapsed.

Governor Sakaja visited the scene on Friday, accompanied by several county officials, as emergency teams continued responding to the incident.

During the visit, Sakaja criticised the enforcement of construction regulations in Nairobi, saying authorities issued notices over violations but sometimes failed to ensure developers complied with them.

“Whenever we see such an incident, an enforcement notice is issued, but it is not followed up, people get low fines, and they continue doing this,” Sakaja stated.

The governor called for counties to regain prosecutorial powers to strengthen enforcement against developers who violate construction regulations.

Sakaja argued that penalties for construction-related offences were too low to deter violations, stressing the need for stronger enforcement to ensure compliance.

The National Construction Authority (NCA) has confirmed that the multi-storey building was registered in July 2025, amid a probe into the incident.