Pension fund to invest Sh3.5b in Kisumu estate upgrade

A house within the Makasembo Estate in Kisumu County (PHOTO: Collins Oduor)

Makasembo Estate in Kisumu is set for demolition and construction of new houses at a cost of Sh3.5 billion.

The project will be funded by the county government workers’ pension scheme, the Local Authorities Provident Fund (LapFund).

In a move aimed at improving the city’s aesthetic value, the fund and the county government have agreed to pull down more than 120 houses at the estate.

The process started on Tuesday, with the demolition of structures in parts of the lakeside city’s estates and payments of a ‘token’ in the new resettlement plan to allow tenants to seek alternative residences.

LapFund Chief Executive David Koross said the project follows a series of consultative meetings with the affected tenants.

“We are here to issue them with the money so that they leave. We expect to build the houses within the next two-and-a-half years and then sell to them at affordable rates,” he said.

Mr Koross told Home & Away in an interview that each of the 1,800 tenants to be evicted has been paid Sh96,000.

This comes amid increased demand for modern houses in Kisumu due to an expanding population.

“We identified the tenants and listed their names and today we have issued cheques worth Sh12.2 million to all of them. We now expect them to move out so that we pull down the decades-old houses,” Koross said.

The Makasembo tenants were given a 28-day notice to vacate, which lapses at the end of this month. Demolitions have, however, started at the gates and house extensions.

Public toilets and a social hall were also being pulled down to pave way for the new high-rise buildings.

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