The State Department of Housing and Urban Development has allocated Sh1.3 billion to improve four informal settlements in Nakuru as part of the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Programme 2 (KISIP)’s second phase.
Mr. Kamau Kuria, the county’s Chief Officer for Housing and Urban Planning, indicated that the upgrading project will have a significant impact on the lower-income settlements of Kwa-Murogi, London, and Lake View in Nakuru Town, as well as the Karagita slums in Naivasha.
The state allocated the County Government of Nakuru Sh500 million earlier this year through a World Bank-funded program to upgrade accessibility to basic services in the four settlements, which were challenged by poor road networks, acute water shortages, and inadequate sewerage and drainage systems. In addition to slum upgrading, the effort aims to improve drainage infrastructure, trash management, slum roadways, and through the setting up of street lighting and high mast flood lights.
The chief officer stated that the county administration, together with funding partners such as the State Department of Housing and Urban Development and the World Bank, had also finalized plans to upgrade Kapkures and Kiratina slum areas in Nakuru municipality, Mwisho wa Lami settlements in Njoro Sub-County, and Tayari lower-income settlements at an additional cost of Sh800 million.
Speaking after visiting the ongoing projects in the four communities, Mr. Kuria stated that the program includes the issue of title deeds, the construction of sewer paths, and water connectivity, among other things.
He explained to the locals that the KISIP National Project Coordination Team (NPCT) and the County Project Coordination Team (CPCT) were collaborating together to ensure that the project consultants captured the right project scope, ensuring that the beneficiaries received value for money.
Kuria noted that the County Government was also charting out potential places for trunk infrastructure extension to communities to improve access, while focusing on investment and socioeconomic support for residents.
The chief officer, who also serves as the CPCT Coordinator, stated that a group of professionals from Nakuru Municipality, Environment, Social Services, Roads and Infrastructure, Land Physical Planning, Urban Development, Supply Chain, and Accounting personnel were working to ensure the project’s success and benefit to the residents.
The initial stage of KISIP witnessed Nakuru County gain a Sh429.7 million grant from the World Bank, which was primarily used to improve drainage infrastructure, waste management, and road tarmacking in eight slum areas, as well as the installation of flood lights, according to the county official.
The chief officer stated that KISIP 2 had been a game changer. He claimed that the tarmacing of a 950-meter-long roadway and 6-meter carriageway in Lake View was 90% complete, while work on a 1.2-kilometer road construction and 2.4-kilometer walkway upgrade had begun in the Kwa-Murogi slum.
Mr. Kuria stated that his team had been working on a 1.2-kilometer project and a 300-meter sewerage network in the London Estate. He emphasized that each project would be finished within the one-year timeframe. As stated by KISIP National Project Coordinator George Arwa, over 400 informal settlement schemes in the country would benefit from Sh31.7 billion in multilateral donor money to deliver low-cost housing and basic infrastructure improvements, among other essential amenities.
The World Bank ($150 million, equivalent to Sh24.1 billion) and the French Development Agency (43 million Euros, equivalent to Sh7.6 billion) have provided funds for improving infrastructure, water, lighting, and social inclusion in slums throughout 33 counties. According to Mr. Arwa, the World Bank-designed improvement aims to strengthen land tenure security as well as services and infrastructure such as roadways, drainage, walkways for pedestrians, and water connections.
