This archive report was first published on 17 September 2019.
Published on September 17, 2019, a report by the Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) and the Kenya Private Developers Association (KPDA) highlighted the challenges faced by the construction industry due to delays in the issuance of e-construction permits.
The e-construction Permit Systems has been plagued by issues in various counties, leading to project delays in the building and construction sector. Inadequate personnel in counties such as Nairobi, Kisumu, Kiambu, and Mombasa have resulted in non-professionals reviewing documents, further exacerbating the problem.
Moreover, the lack of proper communication channels has forced developers to make multiple trips to the DC offices to check on the status of their applications. This has led to significant delays, with some counties taking up to two years to process permits.
For instance, in Nairobi county, the system experienced technical issues and eventually collapsed after the county government parted ways with the service provider, Jambo Pay. As a result, the Nairobi County has been unable to process any permits within the last two months.
The slow permit issuance has caused a financial burden to developers who rely on bank financing for their construction projects. According to the Knight Frank Kenya Market update report for the first half of 2019, the value of building plans approved in Nairobi county decreased to Sh48.54 billion in Q1, a 19.2% drop from Sh60.11 billion in a similar period in 2018.
The delays also pose a danger to public safety due to substandard buildings and unregulated developments becoming the norm.
Recommendations have been made to redesign the current e-permitting system to a one-stop-shop that would integrate all the agencies involved in a central database management system to be managed at a national level. This would reduce the time to issue development permits and ensure efficiency, minimal human interactions, and adherence to building and planning standards.
