This archive report was first published on 30 July 2020.
Published on July 30, 2020, the construction sector in Mt. Kenya region is on the verge of collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to industry players, the sector's decline is largely attributed to the failure of lending institutions to advance loans to the working class, resulting in a significant impact on contractors and suppliers of building materials.
Ndegwa Mureithi, a contractor in Nyeri, has been forced to retain only a skeleton staff of three workers, down from over one hundred workers employed during normal times.
'We have been badly hit by COVID-19. Under normal circumstances, we would be constructing one hundred houses, however, we are doing only three this time. We are therefore asking the government to intervene,' said Mureithi.
Many of Mureithi's clients have been denied financial assistance, with banks citing the high risk of lending to individuals on half salary.
Nyeri County Executive Committee (CEC) member in charge of Land, Housing and Physical Planning, Kwai Wanjaria, noted a significant decline in construction activity, with only 132 applications for development plans received in the months of April, May, and June, compared to over 300 applications during the same period last year.
