(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
As a development worker in NORAD and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a particular interest in the countries of Africa south of the Sahara, I have for 50 years both visited and worked in many of the subcontinent's cities. Slum areas or "informal settlements", as some call them, are of interest to someone concerned with poverty reduction. The Kibera and Mathare slums in Nairobi have been watched with particular interest. Among other things, I have been looking for answers to the following "riddle": Why is the misery of the slums increasing in countries that have had significant economic and social growth over time?
In Africa, slums are currently growing twice as fast as cities. An incredible 85 percent of Kenya's population growth between 1989 and 1999 occurred in informal, urban areas. Some are barely on the map and extend beyond the city limits, where the authorities neither take responsibility for people's well-being nor their rights. It reflects a situation where 75 per cent of the world's population live without a secure right to their home or the land they cultivate. The seriousness is reflected in the UN's Sustainable Development Goal 1.4: "By 2030, ensure that all women and men, especially the poor and vulnerable, have an equal right to financial resources and access to basic services, to own and control land and other forms of property […]. »
In Africa, slums are currently growing twice as fast as cities.
In Kibera (Kenya), more than 700 inhabitants (Habitat for Humanity, 000) live in a few square kilometers. More than half are children and young people under the age of 2017. Women are particularly vulnerable to crime, violence and abuse by mafia groups. The slum is one of Kenya's oldest, largest and with the worst living conditions. The income for most people is less than two dollars a day. The pollution of air, water and soil is significant. Disease makes life dangerous and HIV and tuberculosis are particularly widespread. The residential sheds are most often made of earth or plastic with corrugated iron roofs – and the density makes the fire hazard enormous. The households usually consist of four or more people and only have one room at their disposal. There is no running water, toilet and drainage. Power supply is limited and education and health services are of poor quality. The security situation is tense also because of ethnic antagonisms that politicians whip up when it is convenient for them.
Lack of permanent housing
A visual observation on a later visit shows that little has changed in Kibera since 1980. Over the years, the UN's five slum criteria have only become clearer: lack of permanent housing, adequate living space, access to clean water and sanitation services and safe housing.
The situation today is that more than 90 per cent of the inhabitants rent housing from a "slum lord". There are two types of "lords": small local and large absent. The last category is the worst. They may own hundreds of sheds, but no one knows who they are. They do not take responsibility for the well-being of the tenants. It concerns business people, bureaucrats and politicians who have secured land by bribing the authorities. Friendship, family and ethnic affiliation are important prerequisites for corruption. The "lords" are desperately exploiting the housing shortage. Brutal evictions of families who cannot pay are part of the agenda. But there is a difference between the two categories, because people know who the small landlords are. These tenants can relate to them whether it concerns deferment of rent or roof repairs.
More than 90 per cent of the inhabitants rent housing from a "slum lord".
The rental market in Kibera has great value. The monthly rent for a shed of 20 square meters is usually Ksh 2000 (around NOK 200). In total, 150 households then pay NOK 000 million in monthly rent. It is income that is not taxed despite the state owning the land areas. Since the landlord does not own them, investing in building homes becomes risky. The authorities can at any time claim the areas back for development purposes. Demolition of existing infrastructure will then be the result. Personal and political changes in government also have consequences. The profit must therefore be reaped quickly. This leads to high rents and many and quick evictions of people who cannot pay. In July 30, 2018 people were made homeless in Kibera without the statutory notice and replacement housing. 30 children lost opportunities to go to school. The city authorities and the state were to build a ring road. At least an alliance emerged between people who had their homes destroyed, and the small landlords who were also affected.
The Kibera conundrum
There are structural reasons that explain why slums remain pockets of urban poverty. The answer to the so-called Kibera riddle lies in the fact that no one benefits from upgrading buildings and neighbourhoods. When only eight percent own their home on a permanent basis, people move on average every four years. They have no interest in investing in improving electricity supply, water and sanitation or putting down roots and investing in the local environment and social relations.
In Nairobi, as everywhere else, whoever owns property and housing has direct consequences for the individual tenant and for the market. Transparency about real ownership has concrete consequences for people's lives. It is also important for taxation and the fight against money laundering. Knowledge of real ownership is therefore important for the design of housing policy and legislation. It also has effective public registration – an area of focus for Norwegian aid (but not done in Kenya). Land reforms for the benefit of the majority of people also generate capital for social development.
What is being built today of housing in the slums of Nairobi is happening for an upper middle class with purchasing power. It is part of President Kenyatta's "Big Four Agenda Plan" to build 1 million new homes by 2023. Last November, ordinary people in parts of Kibera had their homes razed to make this possible. But in Kenya, these victims cannot even afford the deposit for a replacement home.
