The Homa Bay government and the Housing and Urban Development department have contracted a consultant to develop a slum upgrade and prevention strategy.
The strategy aims to upgrade existing slums and prevent the emergence of new ones, ensuring decent housing and an improved quality of life for all residents.
Silverwind consultants is expected to develop a blueprint for the implementation of the Second Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project (KISIP 2).
Communications consultant for KISIP 2 national project coordination team, Godfrey Olali, said there is need for a county specific slum upgrading and prevention strategy.
Homa Bay lands and urban development executive Peter Ogolla hosted the team in his office.
Olali urged the two levels of government to help the consultant reach critical stakeholders and develop a comprehensive strategy.
"The assignment of the consultants will be to assist in the development of a county specific slum upgrading and prevention strategy. This assignment will take place in 20 counties," he said.
"In this cluster, apart from Homa Bay, the consultant is also working on similar strategies for Bungoma, Kakamega, Kisumu and Migori counties, and is expected to take 40 weeks."
Olali said the slum upgrading and prevention strategy has been developed at the national level and what remains is cascading it to counties.
"Each county has unique features, traditions and cultures and what will be done in Homa Bay will be different from what will be done in other counties," he said.
Olali said once done, the county government will factor in components of the strategy in the budget for the next financial year.
Phillip Olale, representing Silverwind Consultants Limited, said the wide composition of the consultancy team is designed to align with the various needs and challenges of informal settlements.
"Our purpose is to prepare a blueprint that is actionable at the county level. The terms of reference are to support the counties in preparing a strategy that provides clear directions, proposals, steps and feasible approaches for addressing the different slums and informal settlements,” he said.
Olale said they will examine the different typologies or types of slums, including those on public land, private land, formal areas emerging into slums, slums found in environmentally fragile areas like lake shores and dilapidated municipal housing.
"We seek to develop a mix of strategies or plans that address both upgrading and prevention, allowing us to create action plans and estimate the financing required for resource mobilisation and integration into other county documents like the County Integrated Development Plan," he said.
The strategy will require cabinet approval before being presented to the county assembly for debate, adoption and eventual implementation.
The intervention, under KISIP 2's component 3 (institutional capacity development for slum upgrading), aims to strengthen the capacity of counties and national government institutions to effectively carry out slum upgrading and prevention.
The KISIP 2 interventions are funded by the national government and the county government, and supported by the World Bank, European Union, and AFD France.
With this strategic partnership in place, Homa Bay county is poised to transform its urban landscape, enhancing living conditions within informal settlements.