Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua speaking at a past event / HANDOUT
Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has warned contractors across the country that construction sites lacking basic welfare facilities, including toilets, rest areas and clinics, risk being shut down.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Mutua said the government has strengthened the Department of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSH) to enforce compliance with occupational safety standards in both public and private construction projects.
"I’m giving notice to construction companies all over this country that just like they do in other countries, construction sites must have toilets; they have rest areas, they have clinics, they have things that cover the occupational health of individuals," Mutua said.
He said that he had directed ministry officials to conduct nationwide inspections and crack down on non-compliant construction sites.
The CS disclosed that the ministry had already halted a government construction project in northern Kenya after it failed to meet the required occupational safety standards.
"I have commissioned my team to go around the country investigating and raiding construction sites and shutting them down. Just for information, we just stopped a government project that was going on somewhere in northern Kenya as a result of them not complying with these services," he said.
Mutua stressed that the enforcement campaign will not be limited to government-funded projects.
He added that the Cabinet had approved a memorandum aimed at strengthening compliance with occupational safety and health standards across both the public and private sectors.
"I have directed my Department of Occupational Safety and Health to inspect all projects in the country, whether private or government, to ensure that the minimum standards are put in place," he said.
According to the CS, enforcement is anchored in the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 2007, and the Work Injury Benefits Act, 2007, which place legal obligations on employers, contractors and subcontractors to provide safe working environments.
Mutua said the ministry has also established a dedicated construction safety division under the Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services to oversee compliance in the construction sector.
He noted that officers from the division are deployed to major projects for continuous monitoring, while DOSH maintains offices in all 47 counties to support inspections and enforcement.
