Slum upgrading initiative hits snag

Real Estate

By Mwangi Muiruri

Uncertainty haunts the ambitious Sh883 billion Kenya Slum Upgrading Project (Kensup) that was scheduled to end in 2020.

Dubbed "a core poverty programme aimed at housing those living in informal settlements", the programme appears headed to a halt.

Not only is Kensup in the woods, even the Civil Servants Housing Scheme is faced with the threat of stalling too.

The Civil Servants Housing Scheme Fund was established through Legal Notice No. 98 of September 15, 2004. For the fiscal year 2006/2007, the scheme was allocated Sh1.4 billion to establish 852 highrise shelter units by last year. The broader projection was demolishing and rebuilding dilapidated government houses occupying prime land in areas like Ngara, Pangani, Kilimani and Jogoo Road among other areas.

"Work at Ngara site has stalled due to lack of funds," says an official at the ministry.

Housing Permanent Secretary Tirop Kosgey, however, says the work is on course and the scheme will ultimately serve the intended purpose. But according to sources in the Housing ministry, effects of the post-election violence forced the Government to cut off expenditure on the Kensup project.

Further, UN-Habitat, which was to be the key partner in the project, is alleged to be pussyfooting and shows little support.

"The UN body has all of a sudden shown no commitment in its role as the chief partner in resource mobilisation," says the source at the ministry. "The last time we heard about their action plan was in 2006."

memorandum of understanding

Coming as a multi-pronged programme that was to overhaul the shelter sub-sector of the housing industry, the emphasis was premised on actualising the housing-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

The Government and UN-Habitat entered into a memorandum of understanding on February 15, 2003 to upgrade slums within the administrative boundaries of Nairobi, Mavoko, Mombasa and Kisumu.

At inception, the programme was aimed at fulfilling the Millennium Development Goal No. Seven (Target 11) aimed at improving the lives of 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.

Lack of funds, capacity and donor support are, however, among the key factors that have slowed down the project. Unless a major drive is conducted to mobilise resources and fast track the projects, the complications dim hopes of achieving the MDGs.

But Housing Minister Soita Shitanda puts on a brave face saying: "We are on course. The programmes will be implemented though it might take longer."

It is projected that there will be four million slum dwellers in Kenya by the year 2020.

Housing bill

Shitanda says the Government targets to establish 4.3 million new housing units in the next 10 years and that at least 1.7 million of them will target buyers in the low income bracket.

"This is one way of stemming proliferation of slums," he says. "However, the Government cannot fulfil its pledge to expand housing without fundamental changes in the sector policy."

The minister adds that the Housing Bill, which is in the pipeline, will play a major role in actualising the project.

"The Bill creates a Housing Authority to coordinate, regulate and facilitate housing and human settlements and to guide, monitor and build capacity in the housing sector," he says. "It will be a panacea for many of the challenges currently facing us."

The Authority, he adds, will further recommend a five-yearly inspection and certification of residential buildings to ensure acceptable standards prevail hence taming landlords from "establishing slum-like estates".

The project coordinator. Leah Muraguri, refuses to get involved in the project’s debate, but admits, "There are various challenges holding us down".

According to the action plan by the Government, the project hit a dead end in 2006.

"This is the time we realised how hard the project was getting. By 2006, the annual financial projections towards realising this drive was a consistent Sh44 billion funding per year," a source in Muraguri’s office intimates.

The source adds that, with the cost of building materials escalating at the global front, coupled with the untamed cost of fuel, the budget ended up being a "pipe dream".

The initial budget for the project was Sh522 billion for Nairobi slums and Sh1.6 billion for Thika. Ruiru Municipality was scheduled to receive approximately Sh10 billion and Ongata Rongai Sh8 billion.

Mavoko was earmarked to benefit from Sh4 billion while Mombasa Municipality was allocated Sh114.8 billion. Nakuru was to receive a total of Sh27.3 billion while Kisumu’s share was Sh28.7 billion. Eldoret was to benefit with Sh20.7 billion.

dormitory towns

The remaining slums tucked in various parts of the country were to share out the remaining amount.

According to the initial projection, by 2010, Nairobi and its dormitory towns, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Eldoret, which cumulatively carry 75 per cent of slum dwellers, were supposed to have experienced the Kensup rebirth.

Upon full actualisation, the largest slum in Africa — Kibera, measuring 239 hectares — was supposed to have assumed a new modern estate-look that was to benefit an estimated 500,000 inhabitants.

"Already, a Sh485 million phase one of the Kibera upgrading programme is on course covering 600 house units," Shitanda says.

But while the Kibera phase one upgrading project was supposed to have been completed by October 2007, none of the 600 house units are ready for occupation.

"The upgrading is encompassing the 24 hectares of the Kibera-Soweto East village. Yes, it was scheduled to be ready by October 2007 but we are nearly through," says Housing Communications Officer Lilian Kimetto.

Some 405 housing units were to be developed in Mavoko/Athi River on a 21.64 hectare piece of land set aside for "sustainable neighbourhood component" still under Kensup.

"This is a government-led project while another 21.64 hectares will be developed by UN-Habitat under Self Help Housing for Slum Residents of Mavoko. Construction works for the 405 units is in progress," states the Housing ministry’s website.

Free land

When announcing the drive, Shitanda termed the project "a beautiful dream that will require concerted efforts of all stakeholders to make it true".

He said the Government, through the local authority, would team up with the private sector and donors to aggressively raise the funds needed.

He also said the government would soon be announcing a new raft of incentives to private developers that will include tax rebates for those who will apply to develop at least 100 units for low-income earners.

The Government interventions, according to Shitanda, will range from free land to potential developers and exception of taxation for a period of up to 10 years.

Also to be considered was free infrastructural rehabilitation within the sites under development from the private sector as well as free connection of water and electricity until the time of occupation.

Government bonds were to be issued out to the private developers in a "relaxed way" while consultation fees was to be waived in all government run agencies.

Now, Shitanda says, the drive has been competing with "rigid" reforms that have to be effected to make the project run smoothly.

Housing assistant minister Margaret Wanjiru also defends the project saying efforts to fast track it are on course.

"We held a retreat at the Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA) in March and reviewed Kensup progress," she says. "We dissected the challenges and strengths and we assure you that we will prove ourselves."

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