Kenya: Italian Government pledges further support in Slum Upgrading

By Zachary Ochieng

NAIROBI---The Italian Government will continue to collaborate with its Kenyan counterpart, civil society organizations and other stakeholders in the implementation of the Korogocho Slum Upgrading Programme (KSUP). The programme—currently being spearheaded by the Italian Development Coo-operation (Cooperazione Italiana allo Sviluppo)—is a debt swap initiative, whereby money owed to the Italian government by Kenya is not paid back but invested in projects within the country, among them the slum upgrading programme. Working in close collaboration with the Kenyan government, UN-HABITAT and Comboni missionaries, the Italian Development Cooperation has since 2007 constructed tarmac roads in the slums, as well as a foot bridge connecting Korogocho to the neighbouring Dandora slums.

“The implementation of the Korogocho Slum Upgrading Programme witnesses once more the commitment of the Italian Government in supporting Kenya towards its efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals as well as the close and deep relations existing between our two countries”, Italian ambassador to Kenya Mr Pierandrea Magistrati said during a conference convened to review the status of the programme.

He appealed to the Government of Kenya and the UN-HABITAT to continue supporting the project.

“Slum upgrading is not an easy task. It requires the support of the government and relevant stakeholders”, Ambassador Magistrati said. “Korogocho has been very close to my heart as the living conditions there are a violation of human rights. We must work together to improve the situation”.

Korogocho is the fourth largest informal settlement in Nairobi, covering an area of 0.5 square kilometres. It houses an estimated population of 40,000 inhabitants and is composed of eight villages namely Grogan A, Grogan B, Korogocho A, Korogocho B, Highridge, Gitathuru, Nyayo and Kisumu Ndogo. Living conditions in Korogocho are characterized by high level of insecurity, poor accessibility, inadequate housing, high unemployment rates and unsafe environmental conditions as the settlement borders the infamous Dandora dumping site. The slum is not served by sewer connections and access to clean water is mainly through illegal connections. It is against this background that the Italian government, in collaboration with the Government of Kenya embraced the implementation of KSUP with the aim of developing a concrete and effective upgrading model able to reduce spatial and economic inequalities, comprehensively addressing urban poverty.

Based on a holistic approach that promotes the active involvement of all urban stakeholders, KSUP covers the upgrading of sectors like infrastructure, health, education, safety, mainstreaming crosss-cutting issues such as gender, HIV/AIDS and governance. During its first phase, the programme was able to combine the provision of infrastructure and basic services, with the creation of employment opportunities and the enhancement of policy dialogue, generating concrete improvements to the living conditions of the Korogocho residents.

Speaking during the conference held at Nairobi’s Serena Hotel, Mr Alioune Badiane, Director of UN-HABITAT’s Regional Office for Africa and Arab states said the existence of slums in urban areas is a result of poor planning and urged the Government of Kenya to initiate comprehensive programmes in rural areas to stem rural-urban migration.

“With the government’s commitment, slums can be eradicated. Using Korogocho as a blue print, we can phase out 50 per cent of the slums by 2020. This has happened in Morocco”, Mr Badiane observed. “Help from Italy is just a drop in the ocean. What is needed is government commitment and political will. Within 5-6 years, change can be made in Korogocho”.

Mr Badiane challenged the Government to allocate at least 20 per cent of its national budget to slum upgrading. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, who officially opened the conference, took up the challenge and appreciated the Italian Government’s debt swap arrangement. Mr Mudavadi regretted that slums had continued to mushroom in Kenya’s urban areas due to the small budget allocation to slum upgrading programmes.

“The pace at which slums are growing is alarming. We as a government must show more commitment to eradicate slums. Our policy orientation and resource allocation must change”, Mr Mudavadi said, noting that community participation was also a must.

On a positive note, however, he said the government has approved programmes for the modernization of Nairobi’s Eastlands area.

Mr Peter Kinyanjui, Chairman, Korogocho Resident Committee thanked the Italian Government for their assistance and conveyed the residents’ appreciation of the benefits that are already trickling down.

A socio-economic survey, which will be used for future planning of Korogocho, was also presented at the conference.

The Kenya-Italy Debt for Development Programme (KIDDP), under which the Korogocho Slum Upgrading Programme falls, aims at converting Official Development Assistance bilateral debt owed by the Kenyan Government to the Italian Government into financial resources to implement development projects. The agreement, signed in October 2006 between the two governments, provides for a total amount of 44 million Euros for swap operations over a period of ten years. Each annual installment, equal to one tenth of the total amount, is deposited into an ad hoc Counterpart Fund at the Central Bank of Kenya.