Kisii Governor James Ongwae has issued a stern warning to contractors building houses in the town over a shoddy job.
Speaking yesterday at Daraja Mbili market during a cleaning exercise, Ongwae said some houses risked collapsing due to their substandard quality since they were not satisfied by relevant authorities.
“Those investing in real estate business must use certified contractors. We will not condone any substandard work that may put our lives into jeopardy,” said the county chief.
He urged residents to ensure they occupied houses that were approved by the Ministry of Housing and given occupation permission by the same government institution to avoid living in structures that may cause untimely death.
“It is your responsibility to ensure you occupy an approved residential house. We must take precautions to avoid preventable tragedies,” he added.
This come few hours after Nairobi Governor Dr Evans Kidero gave a similar warning following the collapse of a rental house at Huruma estate in Nairobi that caused the death of three people with several others sustaining serious injuries.
He said programmes were in place to evaluate buildings in town that were allegedly built without permission and that contravened various acts of Ministry of Housing and land.
Kisii town has only witnessed one incident in which a building collapsed in 2008, where eight people reportedly died at Gudka section of the town.