I must get you out of the slums whether you like it or not – RUTO swears to Kenyans despite opposition

Wednesday, May 8, 2024 - President William Ruto is determined to get Kenyans out of the slums despite opposition from some quarters.

Speaking during the launch of the second Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP) yesterday, Ruto said that he will stop at nothing to get Kenyans out of informal settlements.

According to Ruto, over 60 per cent of Kenyans living in urban areas are from informal settlements.

The President went on to say that with these people there, climate change continues to pose many threats against their lives.

"Climate change will continue to pose mounting challenges to our development and serious threats to human health and safety, especially in urban areas where 60 per cent of residents live in informal settlements," Ruto said.

"I say this 60 per cent with a very heavy heart because informal settlements are very unhygienic, very indecent livelihoods where Kenyans live and we must do whatever it takes, using the resources we have," he said.

Ruto insisted that there are enough resources to ensure the over seven million Kenyans in informal settlements live decent lives and in decent places.

Ruto noted that through KUSP they can be able to plan better and organise the informal settlements into decent places.

"The resources we have under KUSP will help us do planning, these resources will help us deal with stormwater, sewage, lighting, titling and organising our informal settlements and our housing plan will help us have decent homes for these Kenyans.”

"We have close to seven million Kenyans living in informal settlements and they deserve our attention," he added.

Ruto noted that the ongoing floods due to the abnormally high rainfall have underscored the urgent need for the issue of housing in informal settlements to be addressed.

The Kenyan DAILY POST