Uhuru vows to support urban poor

By ABIGAEL SUM  and ALLY JAMAH

Nairobi, Kenya; Pledges his government will seek to deliver improved lives for slum dwellers

President Uhuru Kenyatta has assured that his Government will give robust support to the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme.

He said his government will extend security of tenure to slum dwellers to enable them leverage their land commercially so as to improve the lives of an estimated 5.4 million people living and working in slums and informal settlements.

“The Kibera slum, for example, sits on 630 acres of land with a current market value of Sh63 billion or 765 million US Dollars. By giving tenure to the people living in Kibera, my Government will enable them to commercialise their land,” said President Uhuru.

He further added that the Government will continue to support the inclusion of urbanisation as a key part of the post-2015 global development agenda that will address the main challenges and opportunities facing cities and towns.

“We should find better ways to manage our rural environments in order to stem disruptive migratory flows to big cities. We want an agenda that focuses on small villages as much as it does on mega-cities and balances the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development,” he added.

He applauded the decision to upgrade Unep into universal membership, saying this will enhance the organisation’s stature, expand its reach and increase its ability to meet the sustainable development challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.

President Uhuru made the remarks during the official opening of the 24th session of the governing council of the UN-Habitat in Gigiri, Nairobi.

Empower youth

The President also pledged that the Jubilee government will empower the youth and women, giving them equal access to economic and financial opportunities as it focuses on achieving 7 to 10 per cent economic growth rate in the next two years.

“We will amend our procurement procedures to allow our young men and women to supply 30 per cent of all government contracts,” noted President Uhuru.

He said entrepreneurship opportunities will be expanded through provision of affordable loans and education that will give the youth relevant skills and make them competitive in modern urban economies.

UN Habitat Undersecretary General and Executive Director Joan Clos said the number of slum dwellers in the globe has increased from 760 million in 2000 to 863 million last year. He added that efforts of governments and civil society have not managed to stop the growth of slum dwellers.

Dr Clos cited challenges facing urban centres including inadequate housing, insufficient water, sanitation, poor transportation, unemployment, unplanned and chaotic peri-urban expansion, social and political conflict over land and high levels of vulnerability over land.