National Building Board asked to strive towards a safe and well built environment

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Works and Transport Minister General Edward Katumba Wamala has cautioned the new National Building Review Board-NBRB, to refrain from writing postmortem reports and instead prevent accidents from happening.

The 16 member board which was inaugurated today will be led by Emmanuel Male, a former member of the board who is taking over the mandate from Enock Kibbamu. The other members of the board are Eng. Betty Nakamya, Sam Nyadri, Charles Kyamwanywa, Harriet Kaahwa, Tabitha Kakuze, Edward Ssimbwa, James Enou, DE Jackson Amone, Eng Eva Katushabe, Apollo Mukasa, Milton Fred Ocen, Eng Jonathan Tugume, Margaret Adata, Enock Kibbamu and Vincent B. Byendaimira.

The National Building Review Board is mandated to monitor building developments, oversee, inspect and monitor building committees, hear and determine appeals from persons dissatisfied with the decisions of the building committees and determine fees to be charged by urban and district building committees. The board also has to ensure that the design and construction of buildings and utilities to which the public is to have access cater for persons with disabilities.

General Katumba said that the first term of the board, which started in 2018 and ended on June 30, 2021, was about laying the foundation for work, which was done very well amidst the challenges which came along with the developments in the many new cities in the country.

The new chairperson of the board Emmanuel Male, a quantitative engineer says collapsing buildings are a new phenomenon that didn’t exist in the past.

Architect Enock Kibbamu, the outgoing chairperson added that that the board has come up with the Building Information Management Systems (BIMS) which is going to remove bottlenecks in the approval process which hinders many developers to follow compliance and once they are removed, many things will change. According to Architect Edward Ssimbwa, also a board member, all entities have to work hand in hand to ensure sanity in the building industry.

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