Government Sets Aside 1.2b to Upgrade Informal Settlements Within Kilifi County
By Raphael Mboja
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
The national government has started the upgrading of seven informal settlements in Kilifi County.
The projects are being implemented under the second Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project (KISIP 2) to the tune of Sh1.2 billion.
The World Bank-funded infrastructural projects are being implemented in conjunction with the County Government of Kilifi that will see the targeted informal settlements benefit from 13 kilometers of tarmac roads and walkways, drainage systems, streetlights, and 250 toilets among others.
Kilifi Housing and Urban Development chief officer Ali Abubakar said the projects were underway in Kibaoni, Baya Magonzi, Kalolo, Mtaani and Kisumu Ndogo informal settlements within Kilifi town and Muyeye and Kibokoni M17 in Malindi town.
Abubakar, speaking when KISIP officials conducted an inspection tour of ongoing works in Kilifi and Malindi towns on November 11-12, 2024, said the project had a land tenure component in which land ownership in the targeted settlements was regularised through the issuance of title deeds in Mazeras and Kibokoni.
According to him the project is also constructing business premises through the use of 16 cargo containers with a total of 96 stalls placed in two settlements within Kilifi town, while in Malindi, Muyeye area residents will benefit from the construction of 250 toilets.
“Kilifi county has benefited with a total of Sh1.2 billion for the construction of roads complete with drainage facilities and streetlights in Kilifi and Malindi towns and the construction of 250 public toilets in Muyeye area of Malindi town among others.”
The project manager, Engineer Julius Kiplimo, said the projects were at different levels of completion noting that the average implementation rate was at about 50 per cent and that the works were expected to be completed by end of February 2025.
A section of the residents, who spoke to journalists during the inspection tour conducted by KISIP officials, said that the roads, street lighting and sanitation projects being undertaken would greatly improve their lives and enhance security.
The projects target 13 kilometers of tarmac roads with drainage systems and walkways, street lights, flood lights, sanitary facilities and business spaces being constructed using cargo containers.
The projects, funded by the WB and implemented by the national government through KISIP in conjunction with the County Government of Kilifi, are about 50 per cent complete, according to the officials.
In Kilifi town, the residents said the value of land within the targeted informal settlements had started going up, with some plots going at as high as Sh4 million up from between Sh600,000 and Sh800,000.
Jackson Haro said the roads and street lighting projects would greatly improve communication and security within the settlements. His sentiments were also echoed by Lilian Senti, Hamisi Katambo, Zena Mwadena, and Lawrence Ndegwa.
A youth, Julius Ndegwa praised the national and county governments for the projects saying they had also created job opportunities for the youth.
In Muyeye informal settlement of Malindi town, residents said they were elated by the decision to construct toilets in the area where many residents answered calls of nature in thickets which were rapidly being replaced by buildings.
“We used to answer to calls of nature at a thicket near the Muyeye Secondary School. When that one was cleared to pave way for houses, we started using a thicket near Malindi High School, which is slowly getting extinct,” said Mariam Salim Makokha adding the facilities would beneft more than 1,000 residents.
Apart from contracting diseases as a result of defaecation in open, she said, many women had been abused sexually while defaecating in the bushes.
She hoped that the construction of the toilets within the informal settlement would reduce such incidents.
Judith Fadhili, the vice chairperson of the project management committee, said 125 toilets out of the targeted 250 had already been completed, with resident who have not benefitted calling on KISIP 2 to extend the service to other areas.
Kadii Katana Baya and Alfred Chogo from Kibokoni settlement said the new road being constructed would ease transport as well as save the residents from walking in muddy water whenever it rains as had been the case.
They said the streetlights would enable residents to engage in a 24-hour economy and that criminals who thrive in darkness would be kept at bay while the value of land would appreciate.
