The Building Control Problems

The recent collapse of buildings in my country has become a problem for me as an individual, and I cannot seem to be at peace with myself.

Building control is a key measure for achieving good and acceptable levels of safety and standards in any society, particularly the built environment and the construction industry. Collapse of buildings is seen as a high risk event, in which the outcome is always negative and can have a very high impact on human lives, property and investment.


THE PROBLEMS
Based on observations, experience and most importantly, knowledge sharing with colleagues, professionals and friends involved in construction both online (Linkedin, yahoo chat, etc) and offline, the failure of building control in Nigeria is due to the complex and multidimensional political and societal setup of the Nigerian state. Though complex, it can be solved, the main challenge is the will power of change and doing what will be beneficial to all.

The major problems facing building control in Nigeria can be classified into Three (3) viz;

• 1. Political 
• 2. Professional
• 3. Societal

below is a breakdown showing the various sub problems in each classification.

POLITICAL PROBLEMS

·         Unfavorable conditions such as insurance and tax

·         High cost of building approval

·         Current payment systems are prone to collusion

·         Current inspection systems are ineffective and encourages bribery

·         law and enforcement procedures not flexible in objectively promoting regulations

·         Non existence of a database system

·         Bureaucracy

·         Corruption

PROFESSIONAL PROBLEMS

·         Large dominance of the informal sector in construction

·         Non existence of a database system

·         Lack of coordination between professionals

·         Disagreement between professionals on job descriptions

·         Little political drive for and on policy formulation

·         No agreed standardized building control measures between professionals

·         Unqualified personnel in practice

·         Sharp practices by some developers and professionals

·         Inadequate relationship  between practicing  professionals and the academic sector

·         Corruption

  

SOCIETAL PROBLEMS

·         High cost of construction making building clients to accept and encourage sharp practices

·         Building owners are willing to bribe due to high cost of approvals and bureaucracy

·         Deliberate evasion of approvals

·         Lack of knowledge and awareness on building control procedures

Solutions and strategies that could be adopted in handling these problems will be developed in the next post.

I appreciate all the support I have gotten from the RICS Linkedin community and I shall continue to put in my efforts until building control becomes a reality in my country Nigeria.