Govt orders audit of 80,000 buildings

Fred Byamukama on September 1 ordered a structural safety assessment of more than 80,000 buildings in Greater Kampala, directing engineers and other building professionals to test how the area’s structures would perform in an earthquake. The order came at the launch of the Uganda Rapid Visual Screening Programme for Earthquake Resilience in Greater Kampala, a government effort that will cover commercial, residential and public buildings, according to local media reports. Officials said the exercise is meant to identify buildings that can be strengthened, those that may need relocation plans around them, and those that could face demolition if they pose an immediate safety risk. The first report is due within two months. ### Which buildings are being checked first? Greater Kampala is the first target area, and officials said the initial fieldwork will begin in densely populated neighborhoods including Katanga and Kiseni. The screening will then extend to other parts of the metropolitan area before moving to additional earthquake-prone locations elsewhere in Uganda, including Mbarara, Fort Portal and Hoima, Nile Post reported. (nilepost.co.ug) More than 80,000 buildings are included in the Greater Kampala phase, while the broader national effort could eventually reach more than 800,000 structures, according to the Daily Monitor. That makes the Kampala exercise an opening phase in a larger government push on earthquake preparedness rather than a one-off inspection campaign. (nilepost.co.ug) ### Why did the government move now? The Ministry of Works and Transport said the assessment follows a presidential directive to strengthen Uganda’s preparedness against earthquakes. Earlier in August, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics and the National Building Review Board signed an agreement to conduct a baseline survey of buildings nationwide, creating a national inventory of building stock and collecting data on structural condition, regulatory compliance, ownership and occupancy. (monitor.co.ug) President Yoweri Museveni had earlier directed government engineers to audit permanent buildings across the country, with priority given to high-rise structures, according to ChimpReports. Uganda lies within the East African Rift system and has experienced damaging earthquakes in the past, including the 1966 Tooro earthquake, the 1994 Kisomoro earthquake and the 2016 earthquake near the Uganda-Tanzania border, the same report said. (monitor.co.ug) ### What will inspectors actually look for? Rapid Visual Screening is the method being used for the Kampala exercise. Nile Post said graduates from Makerere University, Kampala International University, Nkumba University and Kabale University were trained to collect and analyze on-site information that can flag buildings vulnerable to earthquakes. (chimpreports.com) Flavia Gutto Bwire, executive director of the National Building Review Board, said recent monitoring data in the Kampala Metropolitan Area showed overall compliance with the building control legal framework at 12.6%, compliance with building permits at 0.6%, and qualified professional involvement in building operations at 0.9%, according to the Daily Monitor. She said the data pointed to widespread construction without proper approvals, professional guidance or adequate safety safeguards. (nilepost.co.ug) The compliance tool will also record statutory approvals, professional involvement, construction methods, accessibility for persons with disabilities, fire safety preparedness and common building defects, the Daily Monitor reported. That means the exercise is not limited to seismic resistance alone, but also to broader building-control compliance. (monitor.co.ug) ### What happens if buildings fail the test? Byamukama said the government wants evidence on how many buildings would remain standing and how many could collapse if an earthquake struck now. He said the findings would guide decisions on reinforcing vulnerable structures and, where strengthening is not possible, removing buildings considered an immediate threat to public safety. (monitor.co.ug) The minister said engineers and architects would be expected to propose strengthening options if large shares of buildings are found unable to withstand tremors, according to the Daily Monitor. That next step would determine whether retrofits are feasible before authorities consider more drastic action. ### Who is running the audit? (nilepost.co.ug) The National Building Review Board is supporting and helping oversee the Kampala assessment, while trained enumerators and building professionals will carry out the field screening. UBOS is separately leading survey design, statistical methodology, quality assurance, data processing and analysis for the wider baseline survey of buildings, while NBRB coordinates implementation and technical expertise, according to ChimpReports. (monitor.co.ug) The next milestone is the first Greater Kampala report due within two months of the September 1 launch, Byamukama said. That report is expected to give the government its first detailed readout on which buildings in the capital region can withstand an earthquake and which may require strengthening, closer monitoring or removal. (nilepost.co.ug)