Kisii: At least 1500 people drawn from informal settlements in Daraja Mbili, Marani, and Keumbu areas in Kisii County are set to receive lease certificates. The informal settlers will be granted a lease of 99 years as part of the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project (KISIP) Phase 2, funded by the World Bank.
According to Kenya News Agency, the County Executive Committee Member in charge of Lands, Physical Planning, and Urban Development, Grace Nyarango, stated that the project will not only assist the residents in securing tenure but also contribute to reducing land disputes in the county. ‘Through the project, beneficiaries who have occupied the parcels of land since the early 1960s will have exclusive ownership, allowing them to develop their land without interference,’ Nyarango explained.
The CECM highlighted that the process commenced late last year after Kisii Governor Simba Arati signed participation documents with the Principal Secretary for the State Department for Housing. During a stakeholder engagement exercise in Marani, the County Director for Housing and Evaluation Services, Joel Ombati, emphasized that the county had conducted a socio-economic survey of the three settlements and developed draft base maps and plans.
Ombati mentioned that the informal settlers reviewed the draft plan and proposed minor amendments, which will be incorporated into the final plan. He noted that the settlers have been operating using rent cards and expressed satisfaction with the progress. Ombati, who coordinates the county’s tenure regularization for the three settlements, emphasized that the project requires approval from technical staff, the cabinet, and the County Assembly for operationalization and management of the urban settlements.
The tenure regularization process includes planning, surveying, and issuing lease certificates for those temporarily occupying county government land. Ombati pointed out that the project will lead to significant infrastructural improvements, including drainage, street lighting, roads, sewerage, and other essential amenities.
Professor Calleb Mireri, the Principal Project Consultant and team lead from LER Consultant Limited, remarked that the overall objective of the project is to improve access to basic services and tenure security for residents in participating urban informal settlements while strengthening institutional capacity for slum upgrading in Kenya. ‘The main task is to ensure that those living in public informal settlements have a right to land ownership,’ he stated.
Prof. Mireri lamented the loss of land by residents, indicating that the project will provide relief to many affected families. He affirmed that once the informal settlers become landowners, they will be able to make long-term investments, enhance their wellbeing, and address issues of land succession and land grabbing. Consequently, he said, the county government will focus on improving infrastructure development and service delivery.