Kwani your parents were born in Nairobi?
They came from Vihiga, found decent cheap colonial housing.
Why cant somebody from Vihiga or Kakamega arrive from Ocha today, find cheap affordable mass housing?
It simple - we stopped building them housing.
The last major one was Umoja.
Then Moi tried in 90s with NHC - and the likes.
An average Kalenjin would land in Nairobi and find himself living in one of those Nyayo house, pay rent of 1,000 that was also mortage
Tenant purchase programme.
So yes 1) It's an income problem 2) It's location problem. All the slums are located near prime areas and rent is about 10 dollars.
We need land near these poor people places of work - I mean industrial area, Business districts and richer neigherhood.
How do we build cheap houses that rent out like Ololo - for 500-1000shs?
Simple - retraced our steps to 1990s - when we dropped the ball - and gov got out public housing.
Kamau arrived from Kiambu - bought plots - and started building ugly rental flats.
Onyango arrived from Kisumu - found himself in slum - and build an extensions.
Kadudu of now - will arrive from Kakamega - to land in a slum.
We need cheap mass housing funded by gov.
one of least cost solution...as identified already by gov...gov provide free land.
The problem the land they found is mostly in Kitengela and athi river..for example 15,000 acres disused quarry in Portland cement....but will poor go and live that far????? They left free housing in Ocha to come and hustle in urban areas...
The public land in Nairobi identified - can only house 67,000 units. That can max hold about 300,000 people - 10 percent of the current slums and near slum dwellers.So we end up in Nairobi National Park - we find 30,000 acres of land - some lonely lions - and problem solved - given chinese 15,000 acres to build upper and middle class estates - and 15,000 to build mass cheap housing.
And send the LIONS to OCHA.
We dont need lions in Nairobi - they should be in OCHA...to occupy space created by humans as they migrate to urban areas...our urbanization rate is 4 percent meaning problem will continue to compound.
Is the housing problem in Kenya due to shortage of land or due to people with few resources?
Govt has a lot of land in Kenya and also in Nairobi. It is the resources that a lacking and not the availability of land.
One thing I know for sure, Nairobi went to the dogs the minute like minded people like you from ocha came to Nairobi in their late teens and started having a say on the way the city is run.
Stop also believing you can build houses for all the resident of Nairobi with gov funds. Give the people means of earning decent money and they will find a way of living decently.