- Under the plan, the housing units were to be completed by the end of this year.
- 1,700 and 1,300 units are set to be constructed in Makasembo and Anderson estates respectively.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
The construction of affordable houses on Makasembo and Anderson estates in Kisumu has been pushed to September following delayed funding.
The Kisumu government, in collaboration with the national government and other stakeholders, embarked on setting up 3,000 housing units in the county in December 2020.
Under the plan, the housing units were to be completed by the end of this year, with 1,700 and 1,300 units set to be constructed on Makasembo and Anderson estates respectively.
County director of housing Fredericks Onyango has attributed the delays majorly to financial constraints.
“The final budget for the project is not yet out, what we have is just a draft of the budget. The national government has not yet released the funds,” Onyango said, adding that the budget for the whole project had initially been estimated at Sh800 million.
Despite the backlogs, the groundbreaking, which was set to happen this month, is still going to take place as scheduled and the county is currently advertising for contractors, though the construction of the units has been pushed to September.
Talks and consultations with experts on construction are also underway in a bid to reach a consensus on the model to be used for the housing project.
Models like Design Build and Transfer and Built Operate Transfer are some of those under consideration.
“We are looking at Nairobi, Mombasa and Kitui counties which have rolled out their programmes to see what they are doing so that we can borrow ideas from them,” the director said.
To curb the delays, the county is working with potential developers to help in getting the project ready.
In addition, a housing conference involving various stakeholders inclusive of developers is scheduled for next month where a road map detailing how the operations of the project will be run, will be discussed.
With many residents having been relocated at the start of the project and compensated Sh96,000 per household, the project will see to it that these former inhabitants will be given first priority in accessing the houses after the completion of the project.
"We followed a rigorous process that included public participation and we agreed on how our former tenants will be resettled here after the construction period," Onyango said.
The construction is set to happen in phases with the first phase targeting one-bedroomed apartments.
During the launch of the project late last year, Governor Anyang' Nyong'o advised that the use of urban space should include respect to the green spaces of the city.
He said the restructuring and rebuilding of the eight parks in Kisumu town was proof of the county's efforts to protect the green spaces.
-Edited by SKanyara