Summary
A collapse of buildings killing 42 people in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi, prompted officials to finally take action against the substandard buildings in this area. Currently, 8 buildings deemed unfit for human population were torn down with more than 200 to follow. Building quality in this area has been precarious for a long time with many exceeding national limits. Much of the population of Nairobi live in low-income areas and because of the high demand for housing, become victims of dishonest developers. There are still people under the collapsed building. Rescuers are using all resources available to save the survivors.
Opinion
The first feeling I felt when I read this article was helplessness. Why did the 42 plus people have to die? It’s obvious that the collapsed building was built on the wrong ground, and nobody paid attention until it was too late. It’s clear that on the national level, the problem was at least recognized, with the failure of the local government being to blame. However, were they the only ones responsible for this disaster? I think not. These people had to live in poor living conditions because there was no where else to live. In order to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again, the whole of the economy must be fixed. Unless this is achieved, the substandard building that are right now being torn down will appear again in just a few years.