Every few months, the same heartbreaking headline returns: a building has collapsed, lives have been lost, and families search the rubble for answers and their loved ones. Behind these tragedies lies a decision made long before the first block was laid — the choice to bypass required approvals from the bodies mandated to keep us safe.
In Kenya, seeking approval from the County Government, the National Construction Authority (NCA), the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), and other statutory agencies isn't mere bureaucratic box-ticking. It is the framework that stands between a safe building and a death trap. Yet far too many developers bypass it. Understanding why is the first step toward changing it.
The Reasons ‘Developers’ Avoid Regulatory Approval
1. They view compliance as a cost, not an investment
County approval fees, NCA levies, NEMA licensing, and professional consultancy charges all increase project costs, even before it starts. For many developers, this money feels better spent on the physical structure than on "paperwork." What they miss is that the paperwork is precisely what makes the structure safe.
2. The process feels too slow
Applications queue, move between departments, and require inspections and resubmissions — all of which can be too tiring and time-consuming for developers. Under the pressure of loan repayments and tight timelines, some decide they can't afford to wait — so they build first and answer questions later, if the authorities ever catch up with them.
3. A culture of shortcuts and bribes
Where approvals are seen as slow or costly, an informal market of "facilitation" springs up. Inspections get waived, defects overlooked, approvals rubber-stamped. The building looks compliant on paper but has never been genuinely assessed—a dangerous illusion of safety.
4. Plain ignorance of the requirements
Many first-time or informal builders don't know the full scope of what's required, or which body does what. They secure a county plan, assume they're covered, and overlook NCA compliance, NEMA clearance, or structural sign-offs entirely.
5. Reliance on unqualified hands
To save money, some developers engage quacks and unregistered "fundis" with no professional oversight. These practitioners often lack the knowledge — or the incentive — to guide clients through proper approvals, and may actively encourage skipping them. They claim, “I was in charge of Mr. X’s building, and we never got the approvals, yet as you can see it is still intact.” More often than not, clients fall for this argument.
6. Weak enforcement breeds boldness
When unapproved buildings routinely go up without consequence, compliance stops making sense to the average developer. "Everyone does it, and nothing happens" becomes the reasoning — and the risk grows with every storey.
7. The pressure to maximize returns
In fast-growing urban and peri-urban areas, demand pushes developers to build quickly, cheaply, and densely. Setbacks, storey limits, soil testing, and material standards start to look like obstacles to profit rather than the protections they truly are.
8. A fragmented, confusing system
Approvals are spread across multiple agencies with overlapping mandates and little coordination. Navigating them separately is genuinely discouraging — and that friction alone pushes some to give up on doing it right.
9. The belief that regulation adds no value
Without grasping the engineering aspects — such as soil investigations, structural assessments, and environmental impact — some people dismiss the entire framework as mere bureaucracy, unaware that it determines whether a building remains standing or collapses.
What Gets Lost When Approvals Are Skipped
Skipping approvals doesn't just skip paperwork — it removes the safeguards that paperwork represents:
No soil investigation — foundations laid on unsuitable ground.
No structural design review — undersized columns, beams, and reinforcement. ∙ Substandard materials — weak concrete, inadequate steel, poor craft.
Ignored setbacks and load limits — overloaded, unstable structures.
No environmental assessment — drainage, sanitation, and site hazards left unmanaged.
The outcome is the pattern we've seen too many times: buildings that crack, sink, or collapse — sometimes fatally — destroying lives, savings, and public trust in a single, avoidable moment.
The Way Forward
Reversing this trend is a shared responsibility:
Raise public awareness of what the law requires and the life-saving purpose behind it. ∙ Streamline and simplify approval processes to remove the excuse for shortcuts. ∙ Enforce consistently, with real penalties for non-compliance.
Stamp out corruption within approval and inspection systems.
Insist on registered, qualified professionals on every single project.
Because a building is only as strong as the standards it's built on. Planning to build? Do it right, from the ground up.
Written by
Eng. George K. Ndung’u, PE, PMP
Founder, Kaka Systems. Leads every Kaka Systems build across Kenya, for clients at home and abroad.
