Nyeri is among 20 counties in the country that is set to benefit from consultancy services from the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Program II (KISIP II), to facilitate the development of slum upgrading and prevention strategies.
Through the project, the county will, at the end of nine months, come-up with a County-Specific Policy document, addressing factors that contribute to the mushrooming of slums in Nyeri.
According to the Chairman of the Nyeri County Project Coordinating Team (CPCT) for KISIP II, who is also the Chief Officer in the Lands Department, Fredrick Maina, the document will also contain plans that are geared towards improving the living standards of the county’s population living in the informal settlements.
“The project consultants will basically help us come-up with a Policy direction that is in line with the Constitution and other existing laws of the land. Apart from ensuring that slums are upgraded, the document will also ensure the people (in the slums) live in dignity,” Maina told KNA.
Once developed, the document will subsequently be forwarded to the County Assembly of Nyeri for adoption and implementation. The overall goal is for these strategies to be incorporated into the Nyeri County Integrated Development Plan. This move will compel the County Government to set aside funds for the specific slum upgrading and prevention strategies.
For Nyeri County, Maina said the Committee has identified Kiawara and Majengo informal settlements in Nyeri town, among others, as the main targets of the upgrade programme.
The CPCT Chairman said that Karatina in Mathira Constituency, is one of the areas which the Committee had identified as having a high potential of degenerating into a slum if left uncontrolled.
He attributed the mushrooming of slums to rural-urban migration in search of employment.
“We were looking at the size of the population, the kind of housing, and the road infrastructure. These places have so many people living in shanties, and the area is inaccessible due to a poor road network. Then there is the economic status of the people living in such an area,” said Maina.
“Besides addressing these social inequalities, the other major focus will also be to address the underlying factors that make people move into slums and prevent the slums from bulging,” added Maina.
The Sh21-billion Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Programme is currently in its Second Phase of implementation. The programme is being undertaken by the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, with Sh19.3 billion funding from the International Development Association and Sh1.93 billion from the state.
According to the KISIP II website, a total of 81 informal settlements in 23 counties have been targeted for improvement by the lapse of the second phase of KISIP in 2026.
By Wangari Mwangi
