“Construction of a house in brick and mortar does not automatically translate to it into a decent housing”
In summary;
In fact, the Kenya Kwanza administration manifesto under item no.19 on housing and settlements recognizes that…” more than 60 percent of urban Kenyans are living in slums and other low quality housing without adequate sanitation, undermining their dignity and exposes them to health hazards.”
Going through the above provisions, three questions quickly popped up in my mind; What is decent housing? Do the housing apartments being built meet quality thresholds? Are we replacing shanties with vertical slums in the name of affordable housing?
Before I venture into answering these questions, let me first clarify that I am heavily involved in the construction industry as a project manager and therefore not alien to the building code and standards.
It is the role of a government to ensure that the rights of its citizens to decent housing are attained. In fact, without the government’s intervention this would remain a far-fetched dream for most Kenyans.
Nevertheless, approach to building the houses has been quite flawed. There has been a big departure from what should be done and what is being done by the government. The government’s main focus has been quantity over quality of the houses.
SO WHAT IS DECENT HOUSING?
The United Nations considers adequate housing as basic human right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 25). For housing to be adequate and decent, it should meet the following conditions;
Design and Quality
The apartments ought to be structurally strong, with no risk of collapse, and protected from weather elements. The quality of materials and workmanship should be to the required standards.
Having witnessed patent defects such as the external paint peeling off at the Pangani affordable housing, it raises eye brows on the question of existing latent defects which might be expensive to repair in future.
Space
The building should have enough space in between the common areas such as staircase and hallways. The rooms should also have adequate space to carry on in-house activities.
Considering the available plans and drawings, most of the houses being built have narrow spaces and units tightly squeezed so as to accommodate as many units as possible.
Health and Safety
The building should be free from health hazards such as pests, unsafe wiring, molds, etc. Such conditions risk spreading diseases to the occupants.
The houses should also have proper ventilation and lighting. Given how congested the houses are, these AHPs lack the adequate safety measures.
Accessibility
The building should be easily accessible to persons living with disabilities. Facilities such as ramps should be also installed.
A cross check in most affordable houses being built have inadequate number of such facilities to cater for the needs of all the PWDs occupants.
Security
The security should be adequate and 24/7. The houses should not be dangerous hoods where our children are exposed to people with questionable characters.
Most of the government’s affordable houses are located in informal security such as Mukuru kwa Njenga where no measures have been taken to improve the security there.
Social Amenities
The building should be close to basic amenities such as schools, healthcare facilities, public transportation and job opportunities.
People should also have easy access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, energy for cooking and refuse disposal. There have been no measures to improve such amenities so far.
It is therefore my own opinion that whatever the Ruto administration is promoting and selling to Kenyans as affordable housing does not meet the required thresholds.
The biggest challenge has been the obsession of the government with the financial aspect of the projects rather than providing decent and adequate housing as outlined in the constitution and other international codes.
The government players have turned this into a business opportunity rather than a noble goal to provide affordable decent housing to Kenyan Citizens.
In summary;
- The word “Vertical Slums” loosely means a poorly designed, overcrowded, and insufficiently maintained high rise buildings mostly built to accommodate low income populations.
- My biggest concern has been how everyone is just obsessed with the of initial cost yet overlooking the quality standards of the buildings.
- The initial costs might be somewhat “affordable” but the maintenance costs might be exorbitant in the long run given the poor quality standards during construction.
In fact, the Kenya Kwanza administration manifesto under item no.19 on housing and settlements recognizes that…” more than 60 percent of urban Kenyans are living in slums and other low quality housing without adequate sanitation, undermining their dignity and exposes them to health hazards.”
Going through the above provisions, three questions quickly popped up in my mind; What is decent housing? Do the housing apartments being built meet quality thresholds? Are we replacing shanties with vertical slums in the name of affordable housing?
Before I venture into answering these questions, let me first clarify that I am heavily involved in the construction industry as a project manager and therefore not alien to the building code and standards.
It is the role of a government to ensure that the rights of its citizens to decent housing are attained. In fact, without the government’s intervention this would remain a far-fetched dream for most Kenyans.
Nevertheless, approach to building the houses has been quite flawed. There has been a big departure from what should be done and what is being done by the government. The government’s main focus has been quantity over quality of the houses.
SO WHAT IS DECENT HOUSING?
The United Nations considers adequate housing as basic human right under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 25). For housing to be adequate and decent, it should meet the following conditions;
Design and Quality
The apartments ought to be structurally strong, with no risk of collapse, and protected from weather elements. The quality of materials and workmanship should be to the required standards.
Having witnessed patent defects such as the external paint peeling off at the Pangani affordable housing, it raises eye brows on the question of existing latent defects which might be expensive to repair in future.
Space
The building should have enough space in between the common areas such as staircase and hallways. The rooms should also have adequate space to carry on in-house activities.
Considering the available plans and drawings, most of the houses being built have narrow spaces and units tightly squeezed so as to accommodate as many units as possible.
Health and Safety
The building should be free from health hazards such as pests, unsafe wiring, molds, etc. Such conditions risk spreading diseases to the occupants.
The houses should also have proper ventilation and lighting. Given how congested the houses are, these AHPs lack the adequate safety measures.
Accessibility
The building should be easily accessible to persons living with disabilities. Facilities such as ramps should be also installed.
A cross check in most affordable houses being built have inadequate number of such facilities to cater for the needs of all the PWDs occupants.
Security
The security should be adequate and 24/7. The houses should not be dangerous hoods where our children are exposed to people with questionable characters.
Most of the government’s affordable houses are located in informal security such as Mukuru kwa Njenga where no measures have been taken to improve the security there.
Social Amenities
The building should be close to basic amenities such as schools, healthcare facilities, public transportation and job opportunities.
People should also have easy access to safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, energy for cooking and refuse disposal. There have been no measures to improve such amenities so far.
It is therefore my own opinion that whatever the Ruto administration is promoting and selling to Kenyans as affordable housing does not meet the required thresholds.
The biggest challenge has been the obsession of the government with the financial aspect of the projects rather than providing decent and adequate housing as outlined in the constitution and other international codes.
The government players have turned this into a business opportunity rather than a noble goal to provide affordable decent housing to Kenyan Citizens.