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{
    "id": 777252,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/777252/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 213,
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    "content": "This is because when you have 50 to 100 people sharing one toilet facility that is not connected to clean water, you can only refer to such kind of a housing settlement as a slum. It would be important to generate policy and send it to the counties, saying that the people who will be in charge of urban and physical planning in our county headquarters should give out tough measures that will stop the coming up of slums in many of our counties. I do not see recommendations in this Paper because many of the things are about ensuring that we do not have more slums coming up. But there is no particular policy directing, say, Kericho County which I represent here, what is to be done to ensure that more slums do not mushroom in other parts of the county. I want to question the drafters of this policy because they do not seem to address what got us to where we are today. The many people who come to this city and live in slums do not do so for the love of it. They are trying to chase a livelihood. It would have been important for the drafters to also tell us the enticing policies that they are setting out as a Government, to encourage these people to seek a livelihood out of Nairobi. For instance, investors should not be allowed to set up more industries in Nairobi because it is already overcrowded. They should even be given tax breaks if they set up factories that will employ 2,000 or 3,000 people somewhere in Kitui, Kisumu or other counties, so long they put up decent housing units for workers. This is because the reason people come to this City is to look for a livelihood. We are encouraging those who have the means to go and set up decent housing, so that we do not have this problem continuing. The billboards that we see on Uhuru Highway as we drive advertise good houses, but they are beyond the reach of 90 per cent of Kenyans. They are going for between Kshs5 million and Kshs10 million. How many Kenyans can afford that kind of money? Less than 10 per cent can afford. The private developers should be enticed to build housing units for the poor urban dwellers through tax breaks. This will encourage people to put up such kinds of housing units. These private developers will be able to build decent housing units and save on the cost of the building materials. They will sell them at only Ksh400,000 or a cheaper amount. I support this document for the overall good that it will bring to this country. I only hope that somebody will have the decency to consider the thoughts that we will raise, as Senators, in this House. They should consider what the representatives of the people said when this National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Policy was presented to them. They should incorporate our thoughts, so that we can have a better functioning programme. With those very many remarks, I beg to support."
}