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Lapfund in partnership with the Kisumu government has begun construction of Sh3 billion housing units on 100-year-old Makasembo estate.
Already, machines have been mobilised at the site after Governor Anyang' Nyong’o and Lapfund CEO David Koros signed the deal last week.
The county has provided land and will develop infrastructure, including roads, sewers, electricity and water systems, according to the MoU.
Lapfund will provide construction funds. By Friday, the clearing of the site was nearing completion, with the construction works expected to start in May.
The parliamentary Special Funds Account committee chaired by Kathuri Murungi toured the site on Friday and expressed satisfaction with the progress. Members included MPs Justus Mugali (Shinyalu), Erastus Kivasu (Mbooni), Mabonga Mwambu (Bumula), Marwa Maisori (Kuria East) and Geoffrey Omuse.
Koros and acting Kisumu city manager Abala Wanga were also present. The committee was on a fact-finding mission on the Lapfund-owned estate.
"There was an issue with the auditor general because the National Housing Corporation was getting rent from Makasembo estate and this money was not being transferred to Lapfund, which owns the site,” he said.
Murungi praised the project, which part of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda. “The project is on course and meant to support the county government of Kisumu in the realisation of affordable housing units for locals,” he said.
The old houses were roofed with asbestos, which is cancerous, Murungi said. "Asbestos has carcinogenic effects so we came to see whether the disposal is in tandem with the National Environmental Management Authority regulations,” he said.
The committee said it was satisfied with the disposal of the asbestos as approved by Nema. It, however, urged the county government to make sure tenants who carried away asbestos surrender them.
"We appeal to the county government and relevant authorities to mop up all those asbestos for safe disposal,” Murungi said.
He also called on developers and other state agencies willing to put up housing units to partner with the county.
Last month, affected residents were given Sh96,000 each (Sh12 million in total) by Lapfund Retirement Benefits Scheme to relocate to make room for the project. Some 128 households moved out by February 28 following successful engagement with Lapfund management.
Makasembo was developed by the defunct Kisumu Municipal Council.
Koros said the estate will be upgraded to about 2,000 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. It will take 24 months to complete.
A one-bedroom unit will cost about Sh1.5 million, with two- and three-bedroom units going for Sh2.5 million and Sh3.5 million respectively.
The project targets low-income earners. Koros said priority will be given to the original tenants. “We want to advise affected tenants to start paying for the houses early enough,” he said.
Nyong’o said they are committed to ensuring residents access habitable and affordable housing as enshrined in the Constitution. He said the ongoing housing projects will give Kisumu city a new look.
“We are rebuilding Kisumu and mean well for our people. In the next two and a half years, our people will have modern houses,” he said.
He said affordable housing is factored in his development agenda in line with the Big Four agenda.
He said his mission is to develop 10,000 housing units by 2025, and that he plans to bring on board some stakeholders in the sector, some of whom have been expressing interest in developing affordable houses.
Wanga commended the residents of Makasembo for accepting the project. He noted that houses that were condemned as unfit for occupation will be demolished.
“We have given them money so that they can find alternative houses. We expect to build the houses within the next two and half years. They will then be able to buy them at affordable rates,” Wanga said.
He directed those who took away asbestos to surrender them for proper disposal as prescribed by the Environmental Management Coordination (Waste Management) Act.
Wanga said asbestos is categorised as a hazardous material that releases fine fibres that can cause cancer, especially of the lung.
“Those who have illegally acquired asbestos roofing sheets from the estate to surrender them immediately to avoid legal action,” he said.
