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{
    "id": 777296,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/777296/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 257,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "So, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as we discuss this Sessional Paper No.2 of 2016 on the National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Policy, we need to remind our county governments that they are a big disappointment to Kenyans. This is one thing that they should have done in their first tenure in office. There is no way we are going to succeed in our dream of eradicating slums if we do not encourage ownership of houses by lower income earners. One way of achieving this is to put in place Tenant Purchase Schemes which should be supported by the national Government and county governments. In the early 1980s, we had beautiful estates that were built in Nairobi County by the then Nairobi City Council. The people who were working in the City of Nairobi then were invited and encouraged to buy these houses through very affordable tenant purchase schemes. So, I want to state that for us to succeed, we must sacrifice, we must have more budgetary allocations towards this idea of tenant purchase schemes so that many people are able to own houses. When there is that idea in peoples mind that this is my own house or property, people will have the desire of taking good care of the environment under which they have bought their houses. So, that is one of the challenges the national Government should address; to make money available to the county governments to put in place tenant purchase schemes. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in gearing towards conclusion, I would like to state that as we wait to see how the Jubilee Government implements its four agendas, we must lay a lot of emphasis to ensuring that people have basic services at their door-steps. The basic services are; first, we need to ensure that clean tap water is made available to a good number of our citizens. Secondly, we need to ensure that in most areas where people have settled, be it a slum or a new development coming up, infrastructure should be the first consideration. If one wants to come up with any housing project, the county governments must ensure that they have made good provision for roads that run through those estates. Thirdly, we must make sure that there is sewer connection to these settlements. It will not take a lot of finances to ensure that a place like Kibera has sewer connection. New estates that are coming up should also have good sewer connection. Finally, Nairobi is under a lot of pressure in terms of availability of land. Some countries made early decisions to relocate their capital cities from the overcrowded areas. For example, Nigeria recognized that Lagos was unable to take more people because they did not have the necessary services available for a population that was going to exceed what was already occupying the city. They, therefore, moved their city to Abuja. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Australia made a conscious decision in 1911 of coming up with a new city in Canberra. New cities ease pressure from cities that are already over-populated. There was an idea sometimes back in Kenya to relocate the capital city from Nairobi to another county where there is enough land. Therefore, I would like to state that the submission by my learned colleague, Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr., that we can eradicate slums and allow people to settle in bungalows rather than in apartments may not be achievable if few are looking at a city like Nairobi. With those many remarks, I fully associate myself with this National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Policy. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}