Kenya’s urban development underfunded – Ruto

Kenya’s urban development strategy requires sustainable financing, President William Ruto has said, as he calls for increased allocations by counties to support urban development initiatives.

This comes as the country moves to implement the second Kenya Urban Support Programme, backed by a $314million (Sh41.9 billion) funding from the World Bank.

Speaking on Tuesday during the launch of the programme, at Statehouse Nairobi, President Ruto said the programme will help the country achieve sustainable urban development by enhancing the resilience of infrastructure and services.

“We all agree that our urban development strategy requires sustainable financing, but this has not been forthcoming at the levels expected. It is crucial therefore that the World Bank’s funding for the Second Kenya Urban Support Programme is utilised responsibly and optimised for maximum benefit,” the President said.

He said it is critical for county governments to increase their source revenues and allocate a greater portion to urban development initiatives.

“For our part, the National Government is establishing the National Urban Development Fund to anchor the urban development agenda in a sustainable framework,” Ruto said.

While urbanisation is seen as both a fundamental driver and critical outcome of rapid economic growth, the rural-urban migration has continued to pile pressure on infrastructure with housing being a major challenge.

World Bank estimates Kenya’s urbanisation rate to be at 4.4 per cent , equivalent to 0.5 million new city dwellers every year.

The government has been keen on infrastructure expansion, connectivity enhancement, overall accessibility, safety and security improvement, and the Affordable Housing programme, to improve lives and promote economic growth in the country, mainly the capital.

“Urban areas are the epicentres of our Bottom Up Economic Transformation Agenda. We must therefore be involved in designing and implementing the institutional architecture necessary to manage these vital investments,” Ruto said.

He noted that climate change will continue to pose mounting challenges to development and serious threats to human health and safety, especially in urban areas, where 60 per cent of residents live in informal settlements.

“The ongoing flooding, owing to abnormally high rainfall, underscores the urgent need for us to address this issue with particular attention,” the President said.

The Kenya Urban Support Programme project’s objective is to establish and strengthen urban institutions to deliver improved infrastructure and services in counties.

Urbanization trend in Kenya is growing at a high rate as evidenced by the urban population which stands at 31 per cent as per the Kenya Population and Housing Census 2019.

 In response to the rapid urbanisation in Kenya, the National Urban Development Policy (NUDP) was formulated to guide sustainable urbanisation.

In an effort to implement the recommendations of the NUDP, the government and World Bank jointly formulated and implemented the first Kenyan Urban Support Program (KUSP I), between January 2018 and December 2023.

The Programme was implemented in 59 municipalities in 45 counties excluding Nairobi and Mombasa counties, with an approximate beneficiary population of 5.6 million urban residents as per the Kenya Population and Housing Census 2019.

KUSP II is a five-year, $350 million programme, that will build on the foundations established through KUSP I, and is expected to end in June 2028.

The programme will be implemented in the same 45 counties (excluding Nairobi and Mombasa), but in a total of 79 municipalities, including the two refugee-hosting municipalities of Kakuma and Dadaab in Turkana and Garissa, respectively.

The total beneficiary population is approximated to be 7.1 million residents.

Ruto said the State Department of Housing remains the government’s focal point and must redouble its efforts to ensure the project's success.