July 2011

Construction of a Sh450 million medical college in Malindi has stalled for over a year after the land was allegedly grabbed and sold to a tycoon.

The vice governor of the central Bié province for political affairs, Afonso Jorge Assaf, inaugurated last weekend in Andulo district two residences, aimed at accommodating government technicians to work in that region.

There were mixed feelings amongst Nakawa/Naguru tenants on the surburbs of Kampala as the 50-year old housing estate was last week razed down to create room for a new satellite city.

Kamulegeya & Associates, a consultancy company hired by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA) to advise and supervise the construction of UWA head offices, told a commission of inquiry that they did not oversee construction of the offices due to 'budgetary constraints.'

A University of Zimbabwe researcher engaged by Ballantyne Park residents to assess Philip Chiyangwa's activities at a wetland in the suburb says the business tycoon is destroying Harare's future water supply sources.

Urban residents in Tanzania are witnessing an alarming increase of street children, a situation threatening the future of the nation as the majority of the homeless youngsters turn into forming gangs of criminals.

As the construction sector braces for a new increase in prices of building materials, business and consumers alike are worried that the once thriving industry may lose its shine. The sector's annual inflation rate had increased by 19 percent according to the Construction Sector Index (CSI), released on June 21 by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS).

Residents of Shanzu yesterday protested the demolition of a house belonging to a 75-year-old man by Mombasa Municipal Council askaris. The askaris pulled down Michael Muzdombo's house claiming it was on a road reserve.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has announced a half-year 2011 budget performance of 57.3 percent, saying the state government would cut overhead cost in order to sustain and grow the tempo of development in the state.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has reiterated the commitment of the administration to continue to aggressively conclude many of the developmental projects that are currently going on.

As Nigeria grapples with the challenge of infrastructural development, immediate past president of the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr. Kassim Ali, has said that the government needs to trust its own professionals to handle these challenges.

The Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company will from today demolish houses built on its sewage treatment plant in Kariobangi. Speaking during a tour of the plant, managing director Philip Gichuki said the company has lost 45 acres of land to encroachers.

Worried by the spate of building collapse being witnessed across the country, construction industry experts have underlined the need for stiff sanctions to be meted out to owners of collapsed structures.