Over 500 buildings in Kampala have been condemned by the National Building Review Board (NBRB) and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), following a massive crackdown on illegal buildings in the five divisions of the city.
A condemned building or property in simple terms is a building that local authorities have closed, seized or placed under restrictions for various reasons, including public safety and public health, in accordance with local ordinance.
The crackdown follows a technical assessment report by the KCCA’s Physical Planning Doctorate over the last two years that found out that there are 504 illegal buildings in the five divisions of Kampala, having been constructed without approval by the concerned authorities.
To that effect, the police, KCCA and NBRB in a joint crackdown yesterday, among other measures, halted the construction of a proposed restaurant and office building in Ntinda, for deviating from the approved building plans.
According to Eng Flavia Bwire, the Executive Secretary of the National Building Review Board, much as the building had been approved for a restaurant and office space, the proprietor will not be allowed to partition it into an international school without their clearance.
Other construction sites including commercial buildings and fuel stations along Salaama Road in Makindye Division were also halted for altering the initial building plans.
Eng Justus Akakwasa, the Acting Director of Engineering and Technical Services in KCCA, said they stopped the construction of new fuel stations in Kampala for the last two years and wondered where these proprietors got the approvals.
