hahaha oh god

mushki:

http://www.mashada.com/forums/index.php?az=show_topic&forum=22&topic_id=128716&mesg_id=128716&listing_type=search
i didnt say it someone else did

read about the Nairobi slums here http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=33416 and then compare Nairobi again with Lagos,then u will begin to wonder how that unpatriotic idiot wrote that piece of crap . i don't know why he still came back to Nigeria after seeing the "wonderful" Nairobi

KENYA: Feature - rent crisis in Nairobi slums

NAIROBI, 6 August 2002 (IRIN) - The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) says rents in the slum areas of the Kenyan capital, Nairobi - where as many as 2 million people, or 60 percent of the city's population, live - are "exorbitant" and "exploitative".

"When we talk about high rents, from a service standpoint, they are too high," Chris Williams, policy coordinator at HABITAT's Shelter Branch, told IRIN.

Much of the land on which the slums have been constructed is publicly owned and has been illegally "distributed" or appropriated. This means that landlords are not legally obliged to provide any services - which results in no latrines or water, no electricity, no rubbish collection, no infrastructure, totally inadequate housing, no repairs or maintenance, and open sewers with stinking, raw sewage floating about.

Costs are cut to a minimum by the landlords, while the tenants - who constitute about 80 percent of slum inhabitants - are in a weak bargaining position because of desperately low incomes.

In a working document entitled "A Rapid Economic Appraisal of Rents in Slums and Informal Settlements", HABITAT reported that "apart from limited access to water sources, residents of informal settlements are not provided with basic services and infrastructure by urban authorities".

Nairobi City Council officials argue that they are unable to cope with the rapid growth of the city. "One hundred thousand people are leaving rural poverty every year to come to Nairobi. The economy is not able to give them employment, so they become a problem of the city. Nairobi is taking the burden of the entire national economy," Patrick Odongo of the city planning department told IRIN. "Many of these people cannot pay for the services they are demanding."

But others accuse the Council of mismanagement of funds. "Nairobi City Council has a budget to provide services, and people employed to do it, but they don't - they're just corrupt. Nongovernmental agencies and community groups are the only ones who do anything. The Council members don't mind too much about the slums, because they think they shouldn't be there in the first place," Christine Akinyi of Slums Information Development and Resource Centres, a local nongovernmental agency, told IRIN.

Meanwhile, the slum landlords make "hefty profits at the expense of the poor", says HABITAT. Studies have shown that landlords' annual capital income returns for their investment in slum houses reach as high as 142 percent. Many of them also live in affluent and influential middle- and high-income groups within Kenyan society. In 2000, a study done at the University of Nairobi found that of 120 landlords interviewed, 57 percent were either government officers or politicians, HABITAT reported.

LIVING CONDITIONS

About 90 percent of slum houses were single rooms measuring between nine and 14 square metres in area, and housed between three and five people, HABITAT reported. Most structures had leaking roofs, poorly finished mud floors, mud walls, and some had no windows or secure doors.

Where toilets or pit-latrines were available, they often consisted of holes large enough for children to fall into. "Mothers have to adopt the wrap-and-throw method of excreta disposal for children, which in turn jeopardises the limited spaces available for dumping and playing grounds," HABITAT said.

"Toilets are supposed to be provided by the City Council, but they don't, so it's up to the nongovernmental organisations and community groups," said Akinyi. In the Majengo slum area, about 1,000 households, each with an average of about six people, had the use of 12 latrines, which were maintained by a local youth group for 50 shillings per household per month, she added.

"Most people pay about 1,000 shillings [US $13] per month in rent for a basic room, which typically houses at least six people. About 5 percent in Majengo can afford electricity, water and a toilet - that costs 1,500 or 2,000 shillings."

Overcrowding is a massive problem, as well as competition for houses. A Kenya government population census conducted in 1999 found as many as 82,000 people living within an area of less than one square kilometre in some settlements, HABITAT reported. Those who default on rent payments regularly come home to find a new lock on their dwelling, with their children and belongings thrown outside. "They evict you because so many others want the house," said Akinyi.

FACTORS LEADING TO HIGH RENTS

A number of factors contribute to keeping rents high, including bribes, which are paid to officials, the "high risk" associated with constructing houses on illegally appropriated land, and absentee landlords using "agents" and militia groups to collect rents and evict people.

Those who work in Nairobi's slums say corruption among central government officials, Nairobi City Council workers, civil servants, provincial administration officials, and local chiefs perpetuates the situation. "Everyone is benefiting from kickbacks, except the urban poor," said Williams of HABITAT.

"Everyone's making money out of the slums - it's very difficult to say how much," added Akinyi.

Each time improvements or construction takes place, the local administrator or chief had to receive payment so that work could be sanctioned, HABITAT reported. Payments range from 18,000 shillings in more "favourable" locations in the Kibera area, to between 3,000 and 4,000 shillings in Mukuru or Korogocho. In Kibera, structure owners "admitted to paying money to local administrators, politicians or wealthy businessmen to get the plot on which to build," HABITAT said.

Nairobi's deputy mayor, Joe Aketch, told IRIN that the Council "is not as corrupt as people are alleging". Given the financial constraints that City Hall was facing, in terms of Nairobi citizens not paying their dues and an oversized workforce of 22,000 people, the Council was doing "much better" than before, he said.

"The City Council has been given a bad name. We're not corrupt, we're doing the best we can - if individuals are corrupt that's a different story." He added that 200 million shillings had been allocated by the Council to improvement projects (footbridges, libraries, drainage, etc) chosen by communities living in slum areas.

THE CASE OF KIBERA

The Kibera area of Nairobi is the site of sub-Saharan Africa's largest slum, with an estimated population of between 500,000 and 750,000. It was also the most expensive slum area to live in, reported HABITAT, due to a number of factors, including proximity to the city's industrial and central areas, and relative security in parts. "It is a very diverse socioeconomic place," said Williams, "where about 60 percent of people have formal wages."

In late November and early December 2001, violence - triggered by a feud between landlords and tenants over rents - rocked the area. Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi visited Kibera in October and directed the provincial administration to explore ways of making landlords cut their rents. Fighting ensued, which resulted in the deaths of at least 12 people, the displacement of an estimated 3,000, and rendered many others homeless. Women's groups also accused police officers and rioters of perpetrating rapes, a charge which the Nairobi police denied.

REGULARISATION OF NAIROBI'S SLUMS

A number of key issues must urgently be addressed by Kenyan officials and landlords operating in slum areas, says Chris Williams of HABITAT.

These issues comprise the need for the Kenyan government to introduce a national policy on slum upgrading; the regularisation of land allocation procedures and prevention of irregular allocations; the provision by landlords of guaranteed security of tenure for slum dwellers; the introduction of laws to prevent the construction of slum houses lacking basic amenities such as access to water and latrines; and the recognition by government of the citizenship and attendant rights of Nairobi's slum dwellers.

HABITAT also called for the stabilisation of rental markets, noting that if the Kenyan Rent Restriction Act was applied effectively to informal settlements, rents in slums would fall by 70 percent. Williams cautioned against lowering rents at the expense of the provision of services, however. In order to improve the quality of life of slum dwellers, rent prices must be stabilised and the provision of basic services rendered mandatory, he said.

With the prospect of Nairobi city doubling in size in the next 15 to 20 years, it was imperative that structures were put in place to protect the city's population, Akinyi said. "There's always the danger of Kibera happening again. When it reaches a point where there are serious problems, it can explode. There's a good chance it will happen again," she warned.

thats is Nairobi for you , yet this biggest idiot says its paradise compared with Lagos

and the idiot went on to say there is no power interruptions in nairobi ;

http://blog.apc.org/en/index.shtml?x=5053222


WSF coverage: Internet and power cuts derail publicity for the World Social Forum
By Brenda Zulu writing from NAIROBI, Kenya • 25/01/2007 10:01 • [Access] (0 Comments)
The frequent power cuts and lack of internet has affected the coverage of the seventh edition of the World Social Forum (WSF). The following are voices of journalists on the ground at the Kasarani Media Centre, in Nairobi.

Saidou Djbril from Niger
I work for a news agency and my work has been affected very much since I must send stories every day but I have not been able to send my reports. Yesterday I sent stories as a letter and when we had the so called internet here at the media centre, it was slow and I have not been able to send my pictures.

Anna Morin from Sweden
I work for a website and I really need internet for my work. My pictures have not been sent out yet, though I managed to send some text from the hotel.

Christelle Terreblanchi from South Africa
I have not filed any story yet and I think they will fire me. I could not even file from the hotel because there were power cuts on three occasions. I loved the linux desktop although it was new to me. It’s very simple but keyboards are in French. It is unfortunate to struggle so much with the hardware when there are so many things to cover at any given time.

Camille Bauer from France
I work for a French daily newspaper and internet is really essential for journalists if they are to cover such a big event. Last time I sent stories, I sent them from a hotel.

Julien Babin from Canada
Internet is absolutely essential to my work. A few minutes before it was cut off I had managed to send my work. My only luck is that I don’t work for a daily newspaper. It is frustrating and kind of a waste of resources because I can imagine the organisers of the World Social Forum (WSF) have spent a lot of money on setting up the media centre, filled with a lot of computers.

Jacob Otieno from Kenya
It is sad that people spent a lot of money on being registered for press accreditation, in order to use the facilities of the Media Centre at Kasarani, of which nothing is working.

Kariuki Muburi form Kenya, IT Volunteer
I think the problem is the service providers. I think it is Kenya Data Network (KDN) but am not sure and the problem is being worked on and I hope the situation improves.
As a volunteer this is one of the biggest projects I have ever been part of and it is a challenge. The wireless access is also down because the main one is down.
The only wireless network at the moment is for people using the Celtel GPRS.

and the idiot said its more humane city than lagos; humane city my ass

hahaaaaaaa

@ Egoldman

Thats smart of u.HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA

its a pity that nigeria is being compared to countries like kenya which are semi arid, arid and grasslands and have never mined a single gem or pumped a drop of oil. it should be competing with the asian tigers like singapore and malaysia with whom it was at par pre independence. kenya has the biggest slum in africa and they use it for slum tourism with lots of success.The previous commentators want to battle for nigeria to be the richest among the worlds poorest nations. How absurd. I think if Nigeria wants that title it  can take it without much argument. However africa's most populous nation with significant oil wealth deserves much more and in that i think i can find consensus. By the way i dond know how anyone imagines nairobi operates as it does hosting numerous international conferences and forums on a NEPA type of power supply. with generators?  The WSF quoted above is a forum of the worlds poor and had a budget to match hence all the troubles it ran into.

Meet nairobi
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=271198
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=8221487&postcount=3

I believe this is what the guy was talking about.
i tried to find pics of murtala mohammed airport but had trouble. Can anyone please provide, also of lagos?

mushki:

its a pity that nigeria is being compared to countries like kenya which are semi arid, arid and grasslands and have never mined a single gem or pumped a drop of oil.
The previous commentators want to battle for nigeria to be the richest among the worlds poorest nations. How absurd.

From my understanding, you were the one who started the comparison with your "nairobi is a heaven compared to lagos" comment.
superman said that kenyans are corrupt talking about corrupt nigerians, and you made your kenya/nigeria comparision
If you know it was mostly arid land and slum and shouldn't be compared to Nigeria, why did you make the comment in the first place?

the "previous commentators" were only countering your statement.

it should be competing with the asian tigers like singapore and malaysia with whom it was at par pre independence.

[sarcasm] nah. that's low class. we can't bring ourselves that low. we compete with asian lions like Korea, Japan, China, Russia and co.
I wonder what asian countries Kenya competes with. [/sarcasm]

kenya has the biggest slum in africa and they use it for slum tourism with lots of success I think if Nigeria wants that title it can take it without much argument. However africa's most populous nation with significant oil wealth deserves much more and in that i think i can find consensus.

well, nigeria is OVERPOPULATED as you can tell (and it's really hurting us because as a result, everybody knows us and we get bad PR and image since we're all over the place even in Tanzania of all places ). and we've got a really corrupt goverment and western countries that steal our oil money.
that's a partial reason why we're not developed.

my point: Every country has its own share of problems and hating on each other won't solve any of it.

By the way i dond know how anyone imagines nairobi operates as it does hosting numerous international conferences and forums on a NEPA type of power supply. with generators? The WSF quoted above is a forum of the worlds poor and had a budget to match hence all the troubles it ran into.

maybe it's some of that slum money. _kidding

seriously though. may african coutries take loans from the west to operate stuff like that. and in turn, the west give us conditions to follow. these conditions hurt us a lot but at least we got the loan.

anyways, goodluck with the power supply thing.

Meet nairobi
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=271198
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=8221487&postcount=3

I believe this is what the guy was talking about.
i tried to find pics of murtala mohammed airport but had trouble. Can anyone please provide, also of lagos?

nice pics.
i don't have any links but you can look in the Travel section of Nairaland. dblock has all the pics.

The pics are not bad though.Kenya is developing.You should look in the travel section like WesleyanA wrote.

found the lagos pics, very nice. I nominate dblock for an award for all that effort.

Yeah he really deserves it.I think we should vote him in as MINISTER OF TOURISM.

apparently power cuts are not normal occurrences everywhere


NEWS

Power firm promises uninterrupted supply

Story by FRED MUKINDA
Publication Date: 3/26/2007
The Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has assured customers that electricity supply would not be disrupted even as its workers go on strike today.

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=94556

have u verified that there was no power cut ? how many times have ur own power holding and nepa promised you such and still disappointed ?

PHCN keeps promising oh without action.

mukshi , why u are hell bent on finding faults and nothing positive about Nigeria is what i dont understand ,yeah we have our bad side ,but why is it the bad side that u only see ,the following link is from the same source of ur info, why u didnt paste it here i find hard to understand ;

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=39&newsid=94526

Homes shunned due to attacks

Story by FRED MUKINDA
Publication Date: 3/26/2007

It has become a common story. A family completes and moves into their dream house away from the madding crowd. But immediately they settle, they are attacked by gangs, making them abandon the house for a safer neighbourhood.

Such tales are common in growing peri-urban areas outside Nairobi where lush mansions have sprung up in what were once desolate lansdcapes. The Ngong area to the south and parts of Kiambu adjacent to the city provide prime examples.

But the problem is also evident in other parts of the country, where armed gangs seem to operate with impunity.

Due to the feeling that police are not adequately prepared to protect all and sundry during attacks, residents vacate their homes rather than live at the mercy of gangsters who seem to attach little value to human life.

Attract workers

At the Coast, several home owners have fled from Kikambala, Mtwapa, Kilifi and Mtondia.

In Nyanza, up market estates such as Nyangena, Gesonso, Nyamataro and Suneka are the most hit by the migration.

Because of their serenity and larger compounds, homes in the suburbs were a major attraction to workers who had lived in town estates which are usually congested and polluted.

Many had invested their savings to buy plots out of towns to build homes.

Years later, the families have started trooping back to the town estates, which they had shunned. Others put up houses for business, but due to insecurity, the premises have been idle since nobody is keen to rent them.

New occupants have also been wary of moving to certain areas where alarming leaflets have occasionally been circulated warning “outsiders” to vacate or be evicted.

According to director of police operations, Mr David Kimaiyo, fresh settlements could lead to demand for new security utilities such as police bases, posts and stations as well as increased patrols.

“Population is one of the key factors among crime prevalence and category offences committed, which is considered before security is beefed up in an area,” said Mr Kimaiyo.

He appealed to residents not to panic and dispose of their properties, saying the number of police officers will be increased in the estates with rising population.

Nation found out that many of the homes targeted were those whose owners were considered to be rich.

“It is also important for people living in the same area to know one another, including their occupations, and it is one of the requirements for community policing. It discourages criminals to stay in the midst of such communities,” noted Mr Kimaiyo.

Pastor William Getanda, who lived at Ololua in Ngong area abandoned his home of 15 years when he was raided by a gang. Separate gangs raided his home 17 times. He is now leaving in a rented house in a middle-level estate in the city, which he considers crowded but safer.

The pastor decided to move from city estates in 1982 when he witnessed bloody incidents during a failed coup.

Distress call

“In case an incident of that magnitude happened again, I had vowed my children would not be exposed to bloody scenes I saw that day,” he told Nation.

Mr Pamphil Mawora Mwashegwa, an engineer with Kenya Airways lives with his family in Ongata Rongai and between November and December last year, his home was raided three times.

His 18-year-old daughter, Christine Samba, was killed in gun fight between police and gangsters who had raided the home.

He raised concern over insecurity in the area noting that though police respond to distress calls, they arrive after the assailants have escaped.

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ni wa oh

yeah that is nairobi for you , the city they say is paradise compared with lagos .

@egoldman,hey u r taking it personal. i love naija thats why ive been visiting nairaland for about a year and i only registered to comment on this topic because i am familiar with east africa. im sure even in india there is the good, the bad, and the ugly eh?

@9ja4eva you also need an award for active participation in topics. dont know what to call it though, any ideas?

Well besides Aids what else is imported from Tanzania.

mushki:

@egoldman,hey you're taking it personal. i love naija thats why ive been visiting nairaland for about a year and i only registered to comment on this topic because i am familiar with east africa. im sure even in india there is the good, the bad, and the ugly eh?

@9ja4eva you also need an award for active participation in topics. don't know what to call it though, any ideas?

i suggest u look back into some of your posts in thread ,maybe u would understand whos taking it personal

mushki:

@egoldman,hey you're taking it personal. i love naija thats why ive been visiting nairaland for about a year and i only registered to comment on this topic because i am familiar with east africa. im sure even in india there is the good, the bad, and the ugly eh?

@9ja4eva you also need an award for active participation in topics. don't know what to call it though, any ideas?

I dnt get u oh.

how much be one naira to tanzania's whole currency and savings? i'm not trying to insult them am just trying to give them finicial aid.

1 naira =10 TZ shilling
1 naira=0.7 K shilling

babyosisi:

Well besides Aids what else is imported from Tanzania.

lmao


Is it dt high dere too?

Na wa ohhh even poverty stricken Tanzania follow join.

tanzania + kenya = aids
what on earth is anyone looking for in those areas?

Abeg ask them ohhhh, i have not finish going to better places its Tanzania.

I don't like where this Topic is leaning towards

dblock:

I don't like where this Topic is leaning towards

dblock i agree,dont likewhere this is going.

hbrednic:


tanzania + kenya = aids


what on earth is anyone looking for in those areas?

Thousands of tourists every year find a reason to go there and i dont think its aids research.

By the way u can die of aids in east africa or witchcraft in west africa . death is death.

Here is a reason for some people to go to that part of the world
   http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18661116/
   
Kenya tourism rides crest of booming demand
upated: 3:50 p.m. ET May 14, 2007
NAKURU, Kenya - Lunchtime at an upmarket Kenyan safari lodge in what should be the slow off-season, and the dining room is packed with tourists from all over the world.

Chattering excitedly in many languages as they watch antelope, buffalo and a giraffe grazing just a short distance away across a stone terrace, they are driving an unprecedented boom in a key sector of east Africa's biggest economy.

mmh, i wonder if there are any naija languages being spoken there?
we should not have a myopic view of the world, that just because we love naija, no other africans are worthy. im sure if white people lived in tz or kenya u would not be making the same comments. so is this black on black prejudice?

dblock:

I don't like where this Topic is leaning towards

Its leaning towards where it came from 

mushki:

Here is a reason for some people to go to that part of the world
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18661116/

Kenya tourism rides crest of booming demand
upated: 3:50 p.m. ET May 14, 2007
NAKURU, Kenya - Lunchtime at an upmarket Kenyan safari lodge in what should be the slow off-season, and the dining room is packed with tourists from all over the world.

Chattering excitedly in many languages as they watch antelope, buffalo and a giraffe grazing just a short distance away across a stone terrace, they are driving an unprecedented boom in a key sector of east Africa's biggest economy.

mmh, i wonder if there are any naija languages being spoken there?
we should not have a myopic view of the world, that just because we love naija, no other africans are worthy. im sure if white people lived in tz or kenya u would not be making the same comments. so is this black on black prejudice?

And your point is ? did u really see the topic of this thread ?