Uasin Gishu slums set for Sh1.3 Billion upgrade under KISIP II project

KIPTANUI CHERONO-KNA 

Seven informal settlements in Uasin Gishu County will bene fit from a Sh1.3-billion upgrade project through the Kenya Informal Settlements Improvement Project (KISIP II). 

The upgrade is being implemented through funding from the World Bank, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and a grant from the European Union, with the aim of transforming the livelihoods of locals in the slum settlements. 

The selected slums will benefit from 13.1 kilometers of tarmacked roads, seven high-mast security lights, street lighting along the improved roads, pedestrian walk ways, stormwater drainage, and public parks and green spaces, according to Julius Koech, the Uasin Gishu County Chief Officer (CO) for Housing and Urban Development. 

Koech said the improvement of the informal settlements will give Eldoret, which was conferred city status in Au gust 2024, a new face. 

“The KISIP II project has come at an opportune time when Eldoret has just become the fifth city, what has been pulling us back as a city is the issue of sprouting slums and I am happy the project also has a component on institutional capacity development for slum upgrading as well as pre venting the sprouting of slums,” Koech added. 

“We expect that when the project that is currently at 20 per cent complete, we will have reduced informal settlements in the county by 50 per cent,” he said. 

The project is expected to be complete by June 30th 2025. 

“The slums that were selected for improvement include Maili Nne which will get 3.9 kilometers of the road improved to bitumen standards, seven kilometers of pedestrian walkways on both sides of the road, storm water drainage, high mast street lights, and an ablution block and Kipkaren settlement which will get 2.5 kilometers of tarmac road, drainage, a recreational facility along Kipkaren river, and high mast and street lighting,” he said. 

KK, Kasarani, and Segero slums will benefit from a total of 2.1 kilometers of tarmacked roads, drainage, lighting, and walkways. 

“The three settlements are where there is real informality with dilapidated roads, poor drain age, and services,” Koech said during a media tour of the ongoing projects. 

The other settlements include Mwanzo which will benefit from 3.9 kilo meters of road, closed storm water drainage, street, and high mast lighting, and a green space. 

Shauri will get 700 meters of tarmac, drain age, and lighting according to the C.O. Koech said since the project kicked off four months ago, 500 youths from the specific settlement have been employed. 

“The project has created job opportunities directly and indirectly for the youth and women, apart from the 500 employed youth, we have food vendors as well as the business community where the contractor source construction materials such as cement, hardware, and marram from, thus uplifting the economy of our town,” he said. 

“The KISIP II project has spurred our eco nomic development and significantly reduced the rate of crime in the seven slums,” he said.