By JOSEPH MUCHIRI
A section of a nine-month-old Sh2 million perimeter wall enclosing the Ministry of Culture compound in Embu town has collapsed.
Embu West acting DC Daniel Obudo attributed the collapse of the wall to poor workmanship on the part of the contractor and poor drainage system on the part of the Embu Municipal Council.
He said the department of culture should have known the area is prone to flooding therefore plan accordingly to ensure the wall can withstand flooding. “The wall is a disaster in waiting as it has several structural weaknesses, which should be addressed,” said Obudo.
He added that the town engineer should look into the town’s drainage system and make the necessary changes.
Embu West District Cultural officer Emily Muriithi said the wall caved in on Wednesday night following heavy rains.
Ms Muriithi said the watchman called her at around 11.30pm to tell her that the compound was flooded with water.
“I told him to move to a higher ground. He, however, called me ten minutes later and told me the wall was sagging under the weight of the water,” she said.
She added that on arriving at the compound, they found the municipal drainage culvert had blocked with garbage carried by the rainwater, which led to the flooding.
The officer said the wall breathers were overwhelmed by the large amount of water hence the water was flowing over the wall like “a big stream” leading to its collapse at around 5.30am.
Assess damage
The construction of the wall began early this year and was completed in July at a cost of Sh2 million.
Muriithi said officials from Ministry of Public Works would visit to assess the damage while the cost of rebuilding the wall would be borne by the contractor, as six months had not elapsed since it was built.
The DC revealed that another wall had collapsed at a residential house near Embu College following the heavy rains.
He called on people living in flood and landslide prone areas to move to higher grounds to avoid such incidents during the rains.
