Ndugu Mitayo, Could you please tell me which media organization originally published this article? Thanks.
vukoni ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mitayo Potosi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, November 27, 2002 6:41 PM Subject: ugnet_: Illegal human settlement > > Last Updated: Thursday, 28 November 2002 > Illegal human settlement > > By Cephas Chitsaka recently in Nairobi > For decades an illegal human settlement in Nairobi, > Kenya has inched itself into > Africa's record books. > > It has earned a distinction, which no Kenyan is proud > of. > > The huge slum, known as Kibera, an ugly mass of tinned > roofs and pole and mud > walls stretching as far as the eye can see is located > just on the outskirts of Nairobi. > It is now recognised as the biggest slum on the > continent. > > Some 700 000 own or rent dilapidated match box > structures in Kibera, a Swahili > word for bush. The figure could have topped one million > by now had it not been > that the swathe of land is almost full. > > A filthy contaminated river on one side of Kibera; a > lush golf course on another > and a plush suburb have stopped its physical expansion. > The sharp contrast > startles any visitor. > > Kibera epitomises the deprivation, neglect and extreme > poverty haunting slum > dwellers who have some of the wealthiest people in > Nairobi as neighbours. > > They are not alone in this poverty trap, as there are > other growing slums dotted > around Nairobi. At least 60 percent of Nairobi > residents live in slums but occupy > less than five percent of the city. > > Nairobi has a population of over 3,5-million people. > > Kibera is the largest of them all because of its > closeness to the city centre and > industries. The residents' living conditions have been > variously described as > deplorable, shocking and appalling. So squalid are the > conditions that today > Kibera stands as a tourist attraction in Kenya. > > Visitors cannot help but wonder how such a large > concentration of poverty > stricken people can survive to see another day under > the terrible conditions in > Kibera. > > A cholera outbreak can wipe out the entire slum while a > fire can easily raze most of > the structures to the ground because they are build > close to each other. > > Sometime last year, a fire broke out and Fire Brigade > vehicles could not negotiate > their way through the muddy roads. > > As tourists trudge up and down the almost impassable > muddy roads, they see > hunger and disease etched on the faces of most > residents. > > Bare-footed little children playing in the dirt greet > the prying passers-by; > especially white people in broken English, hoping a > shilling might be tossed their > direction. > > But in most cases all they get is a flash of the camera > and a smile from the visitors > who are surprised by the warmth and friendliness of a > people with nothing to their > names. > > Kibera is such an attraction for very wrong reasons. > Slums are found in most > African countries. But the huge difference is the size > of this illegal settlement and > the squalid conditions under which the people live > here. > > In Zimbabwe, the closest we have to a slum is a > squatter camp. The camps we > have here are nothing when compared to the massive > slums in Kenya. > > Imagine 60 percent of Harare residents staying in Porta > Farm or Hatcliffe Extension. > It will be a pathetic and sorry sight. > > In Kibera raw sewage flows right next to the shacks as > it criss-crosses through the > many little dirt filled streams. On the door of a > crumbling one-roomed shack, a > woman sits on a stool munching a piece of bread > unconcerned about the stench > from sewage flowing next to her doorstep. > > She says she has been living in this community for 12 > years and raw sewage is > part of her life. She now hardly notices the little > stream as it snacks its way > towards the horizon. > > Slum dwellers have only now begun to see what a toilet > looks like following the > construction of a few by some non-governmental > organisations. They have > invented their own which "fly". Flying toilets are > plastic bags, which they use at > night and then fling into the air the next morning. > They land anywhere. > > The few toilets now available are always locked and > provide a source of income as > people pay to use them. > > Clean running water is a scarce expensive commodity for > this community. Decades > ago, when the river nearby was clean, residents had no > problems with water. But > as the population in the slum grew the river was > contaminated to a point where it is > now even dangerous to bath in it. Few dare take the > risk. > > Water for daily use, therefore, has to be bought from > the unscrupulous water > vendors who are connected to the council's water > system. A 20-litre container > costs three Kenyan shillings and a small family > requires three containers of water > daily. > > The cost rises to 20 shillings a container if the taps > run dry. Nairobi taps run dry > almost every week. > > Slum dwellers pay street vendors five to 20 times for a > litre of water, what their > more affluent neighbours pay for municipal supplies. > > To get connected to the council water system, one has > to bribe council officials. > There is no other way. Apart from bribing officials > applicants have also to pay for > the pipes from companies owned by the same officials. > The council is supposed to > provide the pipes but somehow it has never done so. > > Widespread corruption also means that many water > vendors get connected to the > system but never pay a cent. > > In fact, according to a council official the majority > of vendors get free water > through illegal connections. Council has turned a blind > eye. > > While poverty pervades Kibera the entrepreneurial > spirit is very high. As one > walks throughout the settlement there are rows and rows > of makeshift shops > selling all kinds of commodities. > > They even have little pharmacies, butcheries, > nightclubs and bed and breakfast > facilities. The big difference is that all these will > be housed in makeshift structures. > > There are many primary schools, the majority owned by > private individuals but the > conditions are appalling. > > The biggest problem for Kibera is that the Kenyan > government has hardly > recognised the presence of the slum settlement, hence > turned the other way as the > settlement expanded. > > No basic services were ever provided. The slum dwellers > were left to do whatever > they wanted in their collective misery. > > History of Kibera tells us that it was a creation of > British colonialists who first > settled people from Sudan who had fought on their side > in the war. From a few > hundred the settlement has grown to the present > frightening figures. > > The Kenyan government appeared not really interested in > their well being. But that > is slowly changing as the Kenyan political landscape is > no longer the same. With > elections on next month politicians view Kibera as a > sea of potential voters who > can swing the vote in the presidential election. > > Kibera is now a political hotbed, sometimes wrecked by > violence. The sight of 4x4 > vehicles meandering down the dirty and narrow roads and > politicians in designer > suits is common. > > But conditions have remained the same. And as > corruption is endemic in Kenya, > Kibera residents are at the mercy of resource-rich > landlords who illegally grab > plots, build makeshift structures and charge whatever > rent they like. > > The majority are absentee landlords who are the least > bothered about providing > services. Some 60 percent of Kibera's rent paying > residents are part of the formal > wage sector because of its central location. The slum > is near the industrial area and > easily accessible from downtown Nairobi. These factors > conspire to push rents up > and make the slum a plum choice for investors. > > In fact a recent UN-HABITAT slum rent survey shows that > acquiring a slum > property is one of the most lucrative investments in > Kenya. The return on > investment in a slum is under two years compared to 10 > to 15 years in the formal > market. For instance, a room in Kibera that rents out > for US$12,80 a month yields > an annual return of more than 100 percent. > > "These vast profits are driven by the absence of title > deeds. Though local officials > charge a sizeable transaction cost to facilitate the > irregular allocation of land to > individuals who are interested in building structures > for rent as commercial > enterprise, investments costs are minimal especially as > the land is free and building > materials are minimal. Furthermore, the costs of > irregular land allocation are passed > directly onto the tenants, another factor that pushes > up rents." > > The result, according to the study, is that tenants pay > 30 to 40 percent of their > income on housing but receive neither maintenance nor > services in return. > Landlords never issue a formal rent lease. Tenants can > and are evicted at a > moment's notice, often with violence. > > The UN-HABITAT regional office is headquartered in > Nairobi and one of its key > areas of focus is Kibera. So far not much has been > achieved and UN officials point > to the slow progress in having an agreement with the > Kenyan government. > > Kibera is also now a prime target for several NGOs who > source huge sums of > money from foreign donors for the upgrading of the > slum. The money is, however, > chewed up by salaries and sumptuous living of the NGO > officials who are only > seen the following year when they package yet another > sad project proposal for > presentation to donors. > > UN-HABITAT is conducting a study in Kibera to see how > it can be upgraded. > Millions of shillings are to be spent on the project > expected to provide guidelines > on how to attack the Kibera disaster. > > UN-HABITAT executive director, Mrs Anna Tibaijuka, told > journalists from > English speaking African countries attending a water > policy workshop in Nairobi > recently that awareness has to be brought among the > people and policy makers of > the appalling conditions of the urban poor in slums. > > She said more than half of the populations in most > cities were living in squalor, in > indignity and in sickness, as the authorities were > unable to address the challenge > of providing essential services. > > Mrs Tibaijuka said the business as usual approach would > not bring the desired > changes in the people's lives. > > "We need a fundamental change in our approach, we need > a strategy that is > workable and realistic and will make a difference in > the lives of the people." > > > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > "Ivinicus factus sum veritabem diceus." ( I have become an enemy for > speaking the truth ) St Paul! > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Mitayo Potosi > > > _________________________________________________________________ > Help STOP SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* > http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail > --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.404 / Virus Database: 228 - Release Date: 10/15/2002
