KCCA wants an end to night construction

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has asked developers who conduct night constructions to stop it with immediate effect because it's an affront to the law.

KCCA director of physical planning, Moses Atwine, told New Vision there are many construction sites across the city which are dormant during day and very active at night.

"When you go out to enforce the law during day, you don't find anyone on the site but they are very active at night" Atwine said.

"Ugandans including elites are defiant to the law and that is why we keep arresting them" he added.

He said KCCA is concerned that buildings constructed at night can in the future crumble on people occupying them since they are built in a rush and without following the law.  

Atwine was responding to a question on how KCCA has responded to previous accidents in which buildings in the city have collapsed on people and killed them.

He warned that KCCA will not hesitate to take lawful action against any developer found to be constructing buildings in the night. New Vision learnt that some developers construct in the night because it's the time machinery is cheaper to hire.

KCCA tightens policies

To reduce incidents of collapsing buildings, Atwine also revealed that KCCA has tightened the law that before permitting developers to build, they are required to present a geo technical report about the soil sample for analysis.  

"Some places have been dumping sites for garbage with a lot of polythene bags and weak soil and if you just clear a construction project without going to the site to study the soil sample, that can be a recipe for a serious disaster" he explained

New Vision also learnt that KCCA demands that a developer produces a construction permit signed by the supervising architect, engineer and inspector, confirming that all the requirements have been observed before commencing with the construction.