Sessional Paper No. 02 of 2015 on National Building Maintenance Policy

Abstract

The state of physical and built environment reflect complex social economic factors and level of prosperity of a community and nation. Buildings and infrastructures are important assets whose maintenance and upkeep cannot be wished away. Maintenance is defined as work undertaken in order to keep or restore every part of the building and associated infrastructure to a currently acceptable standard and to sustain its value. Maintenance works include inspection, testing, planning, organising, servicing, classification to servicesbility, repair, refurbishment, re-building, rehabilitation, reclamation, renewal, adaptation and setting standards. In Kenya, management and maintenance of building and related infrastructure which are the measure of national wealth and capital formation is regarded as a peripheral activity and a neglected field of technology and practice. Consequent to this, maintenance works are carried out in an ad hoc manner with few or no records being kept, low budgetary allocation and prioritization.