CONSTRAINTS
IN PLAN IMPLEMENTATION:
THE CASE OF KENYA's HOUSING POLICY
by
John Temediari Obomanu
B.A.,
Rutgers University
(1981)
Submitted to
the Department of Urban Studies and Planning
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of
Master of City Planning
at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
May 1983
John T. Obomanu
1983
The author hereby grants to M.I.T. permission to reproduce
and to distribute copies of this thesis document in whole
or in part.
Signature of Author
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
May 25, 1983
Certified by:
Karen R. Polenske
Thesis Supervisor
Accepted by:
Donald A. Schon
Chairman, Department Graduate Committee
qotchl
MASSACHSE1JS INSrTiTrW
OF TECHNOLOGY
JUL 21 1333
UBRARIES
-2Abstract
CONSTRAINTS IN PLAN IMPLEMENTATION:
THE CASE OF KENYA'S HOUSING POLICY
by
John Temediari Obomanu
Submitted to the Department of Urban Studies and Planning
on May 23, 1983, in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of City Planning
policy
housing
to
paid
been
A great deal of attention has
the
among
feeling
general
Yet there remains a
in
Kenya.
public
KenyanS that the performance of the
housing
sector
has
housing sector has
public
The
satisfactory.
than
less
been
the
during
for
called
produced only a fraction of the housing
the
if
as
appears
it
and
periods
development plan
two
last
of
Plan
Development
National
Fourth
the
of
housing objectives
be
not
in
will
live
to
house
decent
a
with
each Kenyan
providing
of
methods
and
theories
Numerous
future.
near
the
realized in
housing problem have been used, yet it is evident
the
resolving
This
objectives.
that they have not been able to achieve their
an attempt to understand the problems surrounding the
is
thesis
housing
Kenya's
solving
in
used
have been
that
approaches
problems.
It
problems
is
realized
the
in
contention
Kenya
in this study that the housing
result
from
their
inability
to
implement their policies and strategies such as the "basic needs"
Furthermore, it is the contention of this study
(BNA).
approach
Kenya,
as
such
country
that the BNA is not implementable in a
successful
a
for
requirements
that does not possess the necessary
strategy.
Some of the recommendations provided in this study call
commitment on the part of the administration; (2)
genuine
(1)
for
providing clearer definitions as to policy goals and how they are
such goals; (3) setting their goals accordingly with
achieve
to
(4)
and
country;
the
in
available
resources
of
the amount
the government, so that lower-income groups can be
restructuring
better served.
Thesis Supervisor:
Title:
Karen R. Polenske
Professor of Urban Studies
-3-
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the
assistance
in
enabling
me
to
Polenske, my thesis advisor, for
it most;
needed
guidance;
Agba
for
complete
her
Phil Clay for his patience
finding
for
this
and
help
their
for
Karen
thesis:
advice
when
I
Lloyd Roduwn for his constructive criticisms and
comments;
and
the time to discuss and
typing
initial
Ebelechukwu
review the study with
Douglass
Earl
me; Jennifer Hill for her editing;
Richardson
people
following
and
Michele
drafts; Marie Southwick for her
professionalism in completing the final
draft;
and
Israel
and
Mary Obomanu, my parents, for their support throughout my stay in
college.
This thesis is dedicated to them.
John T.
Obomanu
-4-
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
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2
Acknowledgements
.
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3
Table of Contents.
.
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4
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6
INTRODUCTION.
.
.
.
.
.
.
7
Abstract .
.
.
List of Tables
CHAPTER ONE:
.
.
Statement of the Problem.
Purpose
and Objectives.
Rationale
.
.
.
.
11
.
11
.
13
.. .
Plan of the Thesis.
CHAPTER TWO:
9
.
THEORETICAL BASIS ON WHICH THE
BASIC NEEDS APPROACH IS FOUNDED
Housing Development Approaches
in Kenya since Independence . .
CHAPTER THREE:
.
17
Kenya's Fourth National Development
Plan:
The "Basic Needs" Approach
23
Housing Strategies Adapted
from the "Basic Needs" Approach
30
.
.
32
HISTORY AND IMPLICATIONS OF
KENYA'S HOUSING POLICIES. .
.
.
38
Indicators of Housing Performance
.
43
.
55
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
CONSTRAINTS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE "BASIC NEEDS" APPROACH
IN KENYA's HOUSING POLICY......
Introduction.
58
.
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.
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.
.
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.
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.
58
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.
.
.
.
.
.
58
Centralization. .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
72
Formulation
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
84
CONCLUSION.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
89
Review of the Purpose and
Objectives. . . . . . . .
.
.
.
.
.
89
Resources
CHAPTER FIVE:
.
Case for and Criticisms of the
"Basic Needs" approach. . . . .
Conclusion.
CHAPTER FOUR:
15
-5-
Table of Contents
(Continued)
Recommendations
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
Page
. . . . . . . . . . . .
91
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
112
-6-
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Projected Need and Cost of
Housing Units by Type in Kenya.
.
2.2
IBRD/IDA Lending by Sectors
.
.
.
.
.
25
2.3
Shares of GNP Accruing to
Income Groups in Kenya. .
.
.
.
.
.
35
2.4
Nairobi Household Income Distribution
36
3.1
Annual Allocation of Development
Funds for Housing--Public and Private
Sectors (Planned) . ...
. . . . . . .
44
Percentage Distribution of Urban
Dwelling Units by Sector. . . . .
2.1
3.2
.
16
.
.
46
.
3.3
Local Authority Housing Stock
.
47
3.4
Urban Growth Projections to Year 2000
50
3.5
Value of Residential Building Plans
Approved by Municipalities. . . . . .
51
Rent Index for Nairobi, 1975-79
.......
.
by Income Group..
54
3.6
4.1
4.2
.
.
Geographical Distribution of Houses
by Income Group . . . . . . . . . .
.
79
Construction of Infrastructure
Services for Completed Schemes.
.
81
.
.
-7-
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Despite
many
international
years
community,
seem to be growing in
solutions
of
to
and
the
complexity
in
Kenya.
Many
These
development
problems
have
from being almost exclusively concerned with achieving
changed
rapid
rates
more
immediately
of growth in
gross national
concerned
various
general
(ILO, 1977, p.
"availability
foreign
substitution,"
development,"
employment
a
1):
have
Yet,
the
been
"industrialization,"
control,"
strategies,
being
"capital accumulation,"
"export-oriented substitution,"
growth--just to name a few.
strategies,
to
conditions of
theories
exchange,"
"population
development,"
(GNP)
Over a period of several
development
introduced--namely
of
product
with the living
poorest economic strata of societies.
"import
by
development problems have been proposed
over the last two decades.
years,
efforts
the problems of economic development
size
Kenya's
sustained
and
despite
"human
"rural
resource
redistribution with
these
development
large proportion of mankind still exists in the
most abject conditions of material deprivation.
According to
the International Labor Office
(ILO):
More than 700 million live in
acute
poverty
and
are
destitute.
At least 460 million persons were estimated
of
protein-energy
suffer
from
a
severe
degree
to
malnutrition even before the food crisis [in the 70's].
of
a
threat
Scores of millions live constantly under
starvation.
Countless
millions
suffer
from
access
debilitating diseases of various sorts and lack
to
the
most
basic
medical services.
The squalor of
to
need
further
slums
is
too
well
known
urban
-8-
emphasis. .
.
the
World
Third
.
The tragic waste of human resources in
is
symbolized by nearly 300 million
persons unemployed or underemployed in the
mid-1970's.
(ILO, 1977a, p.
In
Third
people who
basic
World
countries,
there
1)
are a large number of
live in poverty, live without adequate
housing
and
medication, and live without adequate job opportunities.
These
conditions remain despite impressive rates of
many
countries.
income
and
of
highlighted
Kenya,
Sharp
wealth
the
a report by
developing
depths
the
inequalities
within
of
ILO
and
in
between
that
in Kenya who were without,
rate was at fifteen percent and
rising
and
These
solutions are
and
theories.
needs
included
continuously
strategies
Kenya
was
unemployment
(ILO, 1972).
The
issue,
There existed also
in meeting their
minimum
housing,
The
introduced
to
the
basic
clothing,
Meanwhile, new
ever-changing
of development concepts, objectives and
"basic needs approach to development" has become
another development strategy
plight.
instance, in
the
education, utilities and nutritional standards.
ideas
have
people who were working diligently and strenuously,
yet their employment was not productive
needs.
For
although
however, was not only that of unemployment.
of
countries
at a growth rate of about seven percent, there were
still people
groups
in
the distribution of
impoverishment.
noted
growth
According
to the ILO:
proposed
to
ameliorate
Kenya's
-9-
Basic
needs
are
defined
as the minimum standards of
living which a
society
should
set
for
the
poorest
groups
of its people.
The satisfaction of basic needs
means meeting the minimum requirements of a family
for
personal consumption with regards to food, shelter, and
clothing,
and it implies access to essential services,
such
as
sanitation,
transportation,
health
and
education;
it
demands that every person available for
and
willing
to
work
should
have
an
adequately
renumerated
job.
It further implies the satisfaction
of needs of a more qualitative
nature.
It
aims
at
providing a healthy, humane and satisfying environment.
It
also
assumes that even the most common people of a
country will participate in decision making
that
will
affect
the lives and livelihood of the people and that
will assure freedoms.
(ILO, 1977a, p.
7)
Statement of the Problem
The
that
problems
constraints
this
prevalent
in
thesis
implementing
approach with regard to Kenya's housing
this
thesis
addresses
may
be
the
"basic
problem.
the
are
addresses
needs"
problem
The
further clarified by posing a
number of questions.
1. Why is there a need for a "basic needs
Kenya?
approach"
What are the objectives of the BNA?
(BNA)
in
What criticisms
can be posed about it?
2. How have housing development approaches
with
Kenya's
housing
problems?
historically
What
dealt
implications
previous development strategies had on more
recent
have
housing
policies?
3.
How effective
is
governmental
structure
the
BNA
and
in
complementing
institutions?
the
existing
How effective
is
-10-
it
in complementing the cultural belief system of the Kenyan
people?
4. How does a centralized government administration
Kenya's
housing
problems?
Are
impact
decentralization
and the
existence of land resources prerequisites to the success
the
BNA?
Are
there
other
on
of
factors relevant in resolving
Kenya's housing problems?
5. How effectively have development plans been translated
into
development programs by the Kenyan government?
of
The problem this thesis examines is
important for a number
reasons.
aims
First,
this
analysis
to
enhance
understanding of why the "basic needs" approach, a new
that
was
recently
adopted
by the Kenyan government
the
concept
in their
Fourth National Development Plan 1979-1983, does not seem to be
resolving Kenya's housing
problems.
Second, since a great deal
of attention has historically been paid to housing problems
in
Kenya,
no
it
hopes
to
further
resolution has been found.
housing
may
development
provide
insight
have
strategies
been
development
Third, given
as
to
faulty
whether
in
in Kenya.
the
plans.
previous
for
of
fact
implementation
responsible
the
why
that
many
this analysis
development
or
whether
failures
of
Finally, this thesis may provide
new insights into how housing plans
implemented
understanding
plans have failed in Kenya,
economic uncertainties are
previous
the
may
be
more
effectively
-11-
Purpose
and Objectives
The
purpose
of
this
thesis
institutional constraints found
is to
in
the
imply that there are
implementation
of
a
"basic needs" approach with regard to Kenya's houisng problems.
The specific objectives of the study are listed below:
1. To demonstrate that the "self help" strategy of the BNA
not
alleviated
has
the problems of urban informal housing, the
squatter settlements in Kenya.
2. To
demonstrate
redistribution
that
decentralization
and
adequate
or allocation of land resources do not exist
in Kenya's institutional structure
as
they
did
in
other
developing countries that successfully used the BNA.
3. To demonstrate that Kenya's housing problems primarily exist
as
a
result
of
the
government's
inability to translate
housing policies into implementable housing
the
purposes
of
this
stated
in
development
goals
"program"
refers
thesis,
to
the
programs.
For
the term "policy" refers to
plans,
whereas
implementable
the
objectives
term
of
policies.
4. To demonstrate that the governmental structures do not exist
to enact the proposed alternatives
of
loan
provisions
or
public housing provisions.
Rationale
The basis on which the case can be made that
constraints
prevalent
in
the
institutional
"basic needs" approach make the
-12implementation of the "basic needs" approach
infeasible lies in
the studies on development approaches.
In
of
analysis
an
Development
Plan
(1979-1983)
of
(1983) cites that to date this
needs"
to
approach
Fourth
the
of
performance
the
the Kenyan government, Shaw
implementation
of
adequate
housing
has
Kenya.
Morawetz
provide
accommodated the rapid population growth
of
the
"basic
not
(1977) suggests that three steps are essential in formulating a
need-oriented
strategy:
housing problems.
an
approach
applicable
Morawetz
suggests
that
to
these
Kenya's
components
include explicitly defining the target groups, estimating their
needs, and defining the
consumption
There
implementation strategies.
is no evidence to demonstrate that these steps have
been
implemented in Kenya.
The
"redistribution
development
and
growth
"high
of
income
through
adopted
approaches
alleviating
Kenya's
development
strategies
housing
assumptions that economic
among
trickle
down"
growth"
with
growth
because
would
strategy
were
for
implications
problems.
failed
and the
strategy
However,
of
their
redistribute
these
faulty
incomes
Kenyan people without the need for specific gov-ermnt-al
g-rew-t-i
sE-ate.-es
m4---mem
governmental
intervention
in
implementing the redistribution of income.
Most
lack
the
(1979),
criticisms
clarity
who
is
of
development strategies are that they
necessary
a
proponent
for
of
implementation.
Streeten
the "basic needs" approach,
however, criticizes it as a concept because it has difficulties
-13being definitive about incorporating some objectives
strategies
needs
from
encountered
realities
political
the
ignoring
often
it limits itself to basic
Rather,
successful development.
for
necessary
difficulties that result from
institutional
interventions, and
economic uncertainty, politician's
changing
needs.
Failure
also
in
result
from
the
implementation of development strategies
adoption
the
of
development
successful
strategies from governments with dissimilar circumstances.
Bank's
World
that three
had
(1980) study of the "basic needs" approach noted
common
characteristics
equitable
decision-making,
of
distribution
and
in
pre-existed
successfully implemented this plan.
which
The
countries
These countries all
decentralized
assets,
women as participants in their political
system.
it seems
Based on these observations,
that
the
of
implementation
restricted by inadequately
and unclear goals, and
the
"basic
defined
logical to
conclude
approach is
needs"
inappropriate
strategies,
inadequate research into the suitability
of this strategy for the identified group.
Plan of the Thesis
In
summary,
this
thesis
will
institutional constraints prevalent in
of
a "basic needs" approach.
attempt
Kenya's
to
identify the
implementation
Chapter 1 introduces the purpose
for the analysis of the institutional constraints prevalent
Kenya's
implementation of a "basic needs" approach.
in
Chapter 1
also introduces the case that the "basic needs" approach is not
-14an effective strategy in resolving
Chapter
2
gives
a
Kenya's
Kenya.
it
of
in
the
resolving
analysis by providing
sector
performance
Kenya's
implementation
presented in this chapter.
housing
an
with
in meeting
land
resource for
approach.
of
Chapter 3
historical
an
housing
this
strategy
of
its housing needs.
prevalent
housing areas.
of
Kenya's
Kenya's
current
Chapter 4 focuses on
formalization,
centralization
implementing an effective "basic needs"
of
in
implementation,
her
housing
problems,
development
will
a
be
new
or
institutional
of urban informal
especially
the
possible to determine
strategy
in
order
to
whether she needed a more
implementation
summarizes, and explains the
drawn from this analysis.
suggested.
it
needed
effective and/or efficient
5
the
the
By examination of these cases,
whether Kenya actually
Chapter
also
The case studies will deal specifically with Kenya's
constraints
resolve
is
A
framework for
perspective
land policy government's administration and
issue
development
problems.
provides a
indication
the identifiable constraints of
and
economic
also focuses on the implications of the "basic
needs" approach
critique
problems.
general overview of the objectives of the
"basic needs" approach as a strategy for
in
housing
program.
Finally,
inferences that can be
Some brief recommendations are
also
-15CHAPTER TWO
THEORETICAL BASIS ON WHICH THE BASIC NEEDS APPROACH IS FOUNDED
The provision of housing
second most
1979).
in Kenya is considered to be
important priority by the Kenyan government
the
(Kenya,
Kenyan authorities admit to their inability to provide
houses and services for the masses of low income groups despite
huge expenditures to
Development Plan
that
rectify the housing problem.
has
Kenya
constructing
failed
290,000
to
housing
in urban areas.
meet
the
necessary
units
per
annum.
1,623 units actually completed during the period
(see
Table
units
deemed
necessary
during
this
period
Plan
As a result,
an additional 140,000 new housing
over
had
been constructed
have
Having only
of
1979-1980
by
the
Fourth
(Kenya, 1979, p.
to
meet
The outlook for
the
current
existing number of service plots alone
would
of
units
172).
would
be
a five year time frame to compensate for previous
housing under-production.
construction
goal
2.1) indicates that fewer than the projected 5,708
Development
needed
Fourth
(1979-1983) of the Kenyan government estimates
290,000 housing units are needed per year
However,
The
increasing
demand
(794
housing
seems bleak.
existed
by
The
1980)
to triple in order to achieve the planned physical
output of housing projected to be 11,532
by
the
end
of
the
implementation period of the Plan.
The
projected
increase
in housing demands due
rapid population growth suggests
units
will
that
need to be constructed.
an
to Kenya's
additional
150,000
These figures become more
-16-
Table 2.1
Projected Need and Cost
of Housing Units by Type in Kenya
(1980)
% in Money
Units
Cost K
Value
% in
Physical
Value
Sites and Services
794
870,120
28
48.9
Tenant Purchase
808
2,095,100
66
49.8
15
153,187
5
0.9
6
26,500
1
0.4
1,623
3,144,907
100
100.0
Mortgage
Rental
TOTAL
Source:
National Housing Council Report, 1980, Nairobi, Kenya.
-17alarming when one takes
in
economic
terms
into consideration that
can
be
annual population exceeded
1983,
p.
23),
approximate
increase
in
Kenya's
meteoric
the
economic
of
which
to be the year when Kenya's
population
rate
population
said
in 1982,
growth
will
4.1%
rate
(Shaw,
be increasing at an
per
annum.
Thus,
the
will only add to the existing housing
shortage.
rural areas,
In Kenya's
requirement
the
housing
total
construction
is estimated at 1,075,000 units over the course of
the five-year period of the Fourth
(1979-1983).
National
Development
Plan
The majority of the units needed in rural areas,
approximately 625,000 units, are
needed
to
replace
existing
housing units that are beyond repair.
Housing Development Approaches
Kenya's
strategies
in Kenya since Independence
have
not
dealing with her housing problems.
1963,
been
very
Since her
successful
in
Independence
in
two strategies have been adopted in an attempt to resolve
Kenya's
housing
problems.
The "high growth and trickle down"
strategy and the "redistribution
both
been
with
growth"
strategy
have
housing development strategies aimed at raising the
housing standards for Kenya's masses of poor people.
Kenya's
down"
initial strategy was the "high growth and
strategy
of
the
1950's and 1960's.
This strategy was
based on the assumption that either the elimination of
should
trickle
poverty
be left to the government through the redistribution of
the elements of growth or that it should be achieved through an
increase
in
the Gross National
Product.
This
plan,
it
was
-18-
believed,
would
raise
the "high growth and
housing
active
the standard of
trickle
for
there
strategy
down"
provisions
living of the poor.
Kenyan
the
In
no
were
The
people.
in
government believed problems of shelter would be eliminated
the course of
(Kenya, 1973, p.
rapid growth
the achievements in eliminating poverty and shelter needs
with
during the
"trickle down" period suggests that the government's
assumptions were incorrect.
An implicit
assumption
be
achieved
would
development
economic
achieving
that
economic growth would,
in time, benefit the
was
national
individual citizen.
explicit policies for redistribution were felt desirable or
necessary
this
(see Williamson, 1965).
policy
However,
the
problem
multiple
inequalities,
objectives
(such
economic
growth,
self-sufficiency)
1977, p.
8).
and
summary,
national
as
the
and
in
reduction
the
income,
of
of
achievement
interlocking vicious circles
(Morawetz,
the
(Kenya, 1973).
"trickle
down"
strategy
focused
on
income growth, by promoting industrial activities and
ensuring higher domestic savings and foreign investments,
means
face
The rich seemingly got richer, and inequities in
income become paramount
In
with
during this period was its reported difficulty in
making any headway in solving development problems in the
of
that
through
or
aggregate
industrialization and
No
Satisfaction
170).
improving Kenya's housing standards.
promotion of a new national
as
a
This meant the
industrial economy, with priorities
given to urban and industrial development.
-19-
Kenya adopted a new strategy
period
plan
problems of
in
(1970-74)
in
its
the
in
manifest
development
to deal with the
attempt
another
inequality still
second
The
economy.
"redistribution with growth" strategy was a modification of the
"high
growth
and
trickle
down"
realization that Kenya's progress
influenced by the
strategy
thus far had meant only "very
rapid development in no more than one or two
of the economy"
sections
serious "inequalities in
highly
between
a
on the one hand
individuals
placed
As a result, there were
(ILO, 1972).
income
small
relatively
small
number
of
(in essence, large
farmers, people in business, politicians, the civil service and
certain professions) and the great mass of the
other"
people
on
the
(ILO, 1972).
The
"redistribution
of
income
through growth" strategy
utilized the tactics of deliberate intervention to redistribute
resources to the poorest
sections
of
society,
thus
The
objective
was
inequities in incomes vis-a-vis the
diffusion
of
relative
their
benefits
to
position.
the
urban and rural poor.
was accompanied by a falling share of
categories
of
people,
raising
to
reduce
development
If a high growth rate
income
for
then redistribution of
the
poorest
income could be
achieved by reducing the economic growth rate while maintaining
the absolute level of income of the poor.
Two
failure
hypotheses
additional
be
rendered
about
of the "redistribution of income through growth"
1977, Morawetz, 1977).
and
can
incomes
is
a
The internal redistribution
crucial
strategy
for
the
(ILO,
of
assets
reducing
income
-20-
inequality.
that
David Morawetz asserts that in a society
Kenya)
of
income distribution,
amidst unequal
of
redistribution
income
will
it
occur
is quite
Morawetz
suggests
unlikely
(1977,
argument may not be true in the case of Japan
States.]
as
growth has already commenced
economic
where
(such
p.
and
41).
[This
the
United
income is
redistribution of
that
that
unlikely because the people who own capital assets are
usually
unwilling to relinquish their advantageous position in order to
achieve equality in income.
In
summary
of
the
critical
components
of
"redistribution with growth" strategy, this strategy
the
primarily
attempted to redistribute development benefits to those needing
the most assistance--the urban and rural poor
1979,
p.
37).
The emphasis of the strategy was on employment
generation, thereby
Lea,
1979, p.
With
(Murison and Lea,
eliminating
rural
poverty
(Murison
and
37).
regard
to
the
failure
of
Kenya's
first
two
development strategies, the "high growth and trickle down" plan
and the "redistribution through growth" planrquestion
as
to
whether
they failed because
(1) the government did not
desire to implement redistribution of wealth among
people,
or
whether
(2)
the
the
Streeten
not
and
(1976) suggest that the "high growth and trickle down"
strategy did fail but it was not because the Kenyan
did
Kenyan
strategies ignored how economic
uncertainties would affect implementation plans.
Stewart
remains
have
the
Streeten and Stewart
the following reasons
will to
government
implement these policies.
(1976) hypothesize that
(Streeten and
they
Rather,
failed
Stewart, 1976, p.
388).
for
-21-
First,
and
Streeten
(1976) indicate that it
Stewart
possible that the government lacks
power
administrative
"Public expenditure
knowledge
redistribute
to
programs
for
Similarly,
administer.
the
tax
effectively.
areas
hard
are
are
systems
the
and/or
income
rural
is
to
notoriously
inefficient."
Streeten and Stewart's
that
second
(1976)
suggests
argument
income inequities are an integral part of any development
strategy aimed at achieving economic growth through capitalism.
Third, they propose that when policy-makers benefit directly or
actions
are
of
government
The
strategies.
they therefore hypothesize,
officials,
imposed
autonomously
economic
of
indirectly through the success
of
because
possibility
the
of
obtaining personal advantages from certain strategies.
Streeten
and Stewart's
(1976) arguments implying that the
government's naivete is a h benign force
of
when
implementation
in the
development strategies may appear valid on the surface, but
there
examined,
For
assumption.
are
inconsistencies
some
argument
the
instance,
government lacks the knowledge,
the
or
that
in
the
administrative
this
Kenyan
power
necessary to accomplish the strategy such as the redistribution
of
income
is
contradicted
by
the
government's
administer complex problems with regard to import
on
i-veet
Rather,
investment
the failure to
(see
licensing
implement
a
Ghai,
et
redistribution
ability to
restrictions
al.,
1979).
of
wealth
strategy seems most related to the government's primary concern
for
the
elites
in Kenyan society.
These same elites control
-22-
policies
government
are
and
for
responsible
policy
implementation.
Morawetz
(1977) questions the feasibility of a
"redistribution
through
growth" strategy.
economic
growth
capita income are approached.
levels
higher
the pattern of distribution until much
if
of
goals
income
structure of growth often determines
the
and
redistribution,
the
with
incongruent
is
reason is that
His
per
of
What Morawetz recommends
is that
"redistribution through growth" strategy were attempted,
a
(Morawetz, 1977, p.
growth has occurred
of
policy-makers
and
mass
later
when
41).
be
said
at
Kenya
may
have
reasons
that
the
failing
to
point
this
can
it
Although
until
items
education, rather than leaving these
policy,
interim
reform,
land
provisions,
utilities
and
housing
an
as
it would become necessary to address,
for
recognize warnings of growth failures from historical evidence,
the
government has the responsibility for failures in carrying
through policies and strategies successfully.
in
inherent
is
inequity
Stewart's
and
Streeten
some
development
responsibility in
and policies to decrease
strategies
income, housing, education, nutrition,
strategies
exist
government
should
programs
leave
that
redistribute
focus
her
devising
inequities
clothing.
If
in
no
income through growth, the
public
assistance
efforts
on
will at least ease the hardship of the poor, or
the plight
Without
to
and
thus
strategies
development
suggests that the government has no
income
that
argument
(1976)
programs
of
the
poor
in
Kenya
to
market
forces.
to redistribute income through growth, Kenya
-23-
will remain dependent on capitalist countries for technological
her
to
people
poor
produce
invest
to
capital
in
continue
will
to
financial
and
of
products
provide
The
development.
technological
multi-national corporations, with skilled labor
resources,
luxurious
flood
quality which only the rich can afford, will continue to
market,
job
Kenya's
swelling
ranks of Kenya's poor and
the
As
in the Kenyan economy.
for the third argument, that policy-makers benefit from
is highly unlikely
success or failure, the author feels that it
that
not
often
profits
unskilled, and will continue to make large
reinvested
the
have
people,
poor
government, burdened by its masses of
of
the Kenyan
will
nor
products
labor
skilled
development because Kenya will not have the
policy-makers would want to relinquish their power unless
Such limitations in
they found that they had no other choices.
essence,
the
or
positions
possibility
their
to
threat
a
choices would probably result from either
of rebellion by the masses
(in
a coup).
The
Kenya's Fourth National Development Plan:
"Basic
Needs"
Approach
Kenya's
most
needs" Approach
strategies
recent
(BNA).
introduced
development
Given the fact
strategy is the "basic
that
past
development
by the Kenyan government have failed to
work in solving Kenya's problems of
economic
development
and
housing provisions, the question can be posed as to whether
the
objectives
of
BNA
is
capable
of
achieving
alleviating poverty and eliminating
the
primary
income
inequities
in Kenyan
-24-
specific
to
regards
with
Kenya's
and
housing
growth
"high
the
Considering the failures of
problems.
trickle
strategies
approach
"basic need"
lie in the plan and programs of the
its
Kenyan
the
The answers to these questions
the BNA?
selecting
government
for
rationale
Furthermore, what is the
society.
and
down" strategy and the "redistribution through growth"
strategy, the question can be raised as to what ways the "basic
needs" approach remedies the failures of
development
previous
strategies.
The
has been a major proponent of the "basic
Bank
World
needs" approach, suggesting that it will alleviate poverty
eliminate
They have published a number of
inequities.
income
development
reports promoting this relatively new idea of
Bank,
1980a;
proposing
Streeten, 1981).
The
and
it
has
also
(see World
rationale
Bank
materials,
and
attractive
because
ability
the
to
(1)
it
The "basic
is
needs"
Bank's lending patterns and policies
ago, more than 58%
years
devoted
activities
were
proportion
dropped
Bank,
1980, p.
34).
to
to
about
encourage
in
World
(see Table 2.2).
of the World Bank's lending
infrastructure
37%
approach
congruent with the major
revisions that have occurred over the past ten years
Ten
for
(2) satisfy certain basic needs
and improve the quality of labor.
is
World
for
the "basic needs" approach as a superior strategy is
that as an approach,
resources
their strategy
as
adopt
to
countries
developing
and
projects.
by fiscal year 1980
An increasing proportion
of
its
This
(World
lending
activities is now committed to sectors directly contributing to
Table 2.2
IBRD/IDA Lending by Sectors
(in fiscal years)
Average
Annual Growth
1970-1980
1980
1970
In Millions of
1980 Dollars
(Preliminary)
In millions of
1980 Dollars
%
58.3
4,090
37.2
0.8
506
7.8
3,352
30.5
20.8
Production sectors
"New Style Projects" 2
166
2.6
2,053
18.7
28.6
"Basic Needs
Programs" 3
340
5.2
1,299
11.8
14.4
Sectors of Lending
Infrastructure(l)
Sectors directly
linked to increasing the productivity
of the poor
3,784
%
I,
Other Production
Sectors 4
2,197
33.9
3,558
32.3
4.9
TOTAL
6.487
100.0
11.000
100.0
5.4
Source:
Note:
1.
2.
3.
4.
World Bank, Poverty and Basic Needs, Washington, D.C., World Bank Publications, 1980, p. 34.
There is some overlap between various categories. Also, all lending has varying degrees
of impact on poverty, directly or indirectly. This table is only illustrative to bring
out the major shift in sectoral emphasis over time.
Includes communications, energy, power, transportation and tourism.
Includes rural development and small scale industry projects where over 51% of the total benefit
is directed to poverty target groups.
Includes education, population, health, Sites and Services, and water supply.
Includes agriculture (excluding rural dev.), industry, technical assistance, and non-project
lending.
-26-
the
objective
and
agricultural
Kenya's
for
at
implementation of strategies aimed
government,
pressured
Development
Agency's
a
by
International
adopted the
have
loans.
"basic needs" approach to improve its opportunities for
certainly been cases to verify the assumption that
have
There
because
Kenya primarily adopted the "basic needs" approach
is
sector for example, the World Bank
recommendation
of
to
housing
Kenya's
the
adopted
government
Kenyan
the
when
(1975) was only amenable
implementation
the
in
participating
it
In Kenya's housing
a preferred policy by lending agencies.
objectives
of
that the Kenyan
the
may
trends,
lending
needs
the
meeting
in
shift
million
$61
sectors for the
housing
therefore,
possible,
is
It
poor.
Kenya's
a
approved
the International Development Agency
loan
In 1982, for instance,
of poverty alleviation.
made by the World Bank for a Sites and Services
project.
The World Bank
mission
had
the
recommended
Sites
and
Services projects to encourage low-income groups to participate
in
the
construction
of
own
their
houses
with
the Kenyan
The
government's providing the building materials.
objective
of Dandora projects, a location on the eastern side of Nairobi,
Kenya,
was to decrease the demand for housing by supplying new
homes.
Planning was made
Kenyans.
low-income
In
for
6,000
addition,
targeted to develop the plots were
purchase
of building materials.
facilities
such
as
schools,
plots
the
given
to
be
low-income
loans
for
given
to
Kenyans
the
the
The construction of community
health
centers,
markets,
and
-27-
innovative
approaches
were
to be provided by the government.
The government would also provide the city planning
necessary for the installation of utilities.
These plans would
lost effectiveness as primary goals in the implementation
have
of
strategies
led
strategies
to
the
1974-1978
Development Plans for Kenya and
finance
Dandora
p.
70; Kenya,
and
1979-1983
and
p.
1979,
Services Housing Project
172).
adoption
The persuasiveness of the World Bank and the
the
"basic
of
needs" approach in Kenya depicts the vulnerability
of the Kenyan government to external forces
of
dependency
National
the agreement of the World Bank
Sites
the
1973,
(Kenya,
housing
Effective
official endorsement of the sites and
the
in
services concept
to
1978).
(Beardmore,
planning
city
the
government
on
the
essence,
(in
other countries to provide
development aid).
Some critics may argue that Kenya did not have
aid
Bank was not appropriate for Kenya
when
we
by
(HRDU, 1979).
the
technology,
Nevertheless,
and
capital,
devoted
the
come from donor agencies and/or other governments,
the
control
and
more
attractive
in
it is
would
influence to determine what strategies
Kenya would adopt to resolve her housing problems.
even
funds,
to housing developments
not surprising that a donor agency, like the World Bank,
have
World
consider that the World Bank has been involved in the
Kenyan housing sector since 1971, and that most of
Kenya,
accept
They suggest
that included housing strategy stipulations.
that the Sites and Services project recommended
to
because
The BNA
is
its name has political appeal.
-28-
to at least attend to
that the government is attempting
people
government might avoid major responsibilities, such
the
need"
The BNA, after all,
as the construction of homes for the poor.
is another form of redistribution through
aims
personal
the
counter
"basic
With the illusions provoked by the name
"basic needs."
her
to
suggest
to
Its name can enable the Kenyan government
of
growth
might
which
The
officials.
government
government could maintain the existing direction of the housing
policy simply by describinq it with a more palatable name.
The "basic needs"
the
accomplish
approach
following goals
a
is
strategy
designed
to
(World Bank, 1980a, pp. 9-12):
First, what is made clear by the "basic needs" approach as
cited
of
in publications
in
health are beneficial
and
the
that
education, nutrition, and
fertility,
reducing
is
raising
labor
enhancing people's adaptability and capacity for
productivity,
change,
studies,
Bank
needs--better
basic
of
provisions
World
creating
a
political
environment
for
stable
development.
Second,
the pressing basic needs of low-income people can
be met successfully without sacrificing economic growth.
Third, the BNA provides housing
implemented
within
a
framework
can
be
management
of
re-allocation
of
solutions
by
improved
which
resources.
The
existing
World
Bank
also
recommends
the
resources to facilitate and achieve the objectives of
meeting basic needs.
The World Bank is also a proponent of the
acquisition of external assistance from developed countries
embark on such redevelopment.
to
-29-
The
feature of a basic needs strategy is
fundamental
emphasis on meeting the basic needs of the poor
central
its
masses
within the shortest possible period.
development economist and proponent of
another
Streeten,
objectives
the basic needs approach, further elaborated on the
of
basic needs.
According to him, the basic needs approach to
(Streeten, 1979, p.
development has three objectives
(1)
The provision of real
as
such
necessities
buy
transportation, fuel,
implies productive and
This
to
claim
to
goods,
that
(employment and self-employment)
primary
a
people
give
adequate
household
clothing,
food,
and shelter.
remunerative livelihoods
are
incomes that
4):
they
what
and
produce,
recognition of their contribution.
(2)
care,
and
water,
social infrastructure
services
on
a
This
sanitation.
to
adequate
basis
sustained
implies
provide
and
health
education,
Access to public services such as
a physical
goods
basic
and
and
to allow for the growth
fulfillment of basic needs.
(3) Participation in the formulation and
projects, programs, and policies by the
local
mobilization
of
people
under-utilized
objectives are controversial.
Countries
implementation of
affected,
These
resources.
that
and
adopted
basic
needs as a strategy seemed to have three common characteristics
(World Bank, 1980a, pp.
(1) They all had
fairly
10-12):
equitable
assets, particularly land;
distribution
of
physical
-30-
all
(2) They
providing
decision-making,
decentralized
had
support and giving the local level more autonomy;
"basic-needs"
fully
relatively
had
that
(3) In countries
the
of
role
all more
political
the
in
women
with
success
partial
(for example, Sri Lanka),
strategy
recognized
and
systems.
The above findings seem to imply that these countries with
equitable
distribution
of land, decentralized decision-making
and the recognition of women in political systems, were able to
achieve a measure of
approach.
Thus,
success
if
basic needs were successfully adopted in
arises
such countries, the question then
"basic-needs"
approach
countries deficient of
"basic-needs"
the
adopting
by
can
such
successfully
as
to
whether
the
be applied to other
characteristics,
as
or
can
be
restated, can the "basic-needs" approach strategy be adopted in
countries
such
as Kenya, where equitable distribution of land
and decentralization of decision-making could
less
evident?
be
to
said
be
These -kinds of problems are rarely addressed in
the literature.
Housing Strategies Adapted from the
The
Kenyan
government,
in
"Basic Needs" Approach
their
Fourth
National
Redevelopment Plan, adapted several general objectives from the
"basic
needs"
approach to alleviate Kenya's housing problems.
The objectives aimed at
(Kenya, 1979, pp. 172-173):
1. Increasing the stock of housing
in the urban areas
the growing demand by urban residents.
to
meet
-31-
2. Attending to the existent housing shortage.
3. Ensuring the deliverance of
housing
produced
to
targeted
groups.
4. Maintaining
a healthy and safe urban environment, free
from
the dangers of fire and epidemics.
5. Improving the conditions of rural housing.
With
to
regards
addressing
specifically
Kenya's urban
housing problems, the Kenyan government intended to:
1. Allocate most of its resources to the provision
for
its
low-income
of
housing
Site and Services housing
families.
supposedly functions as a realistic and useful tool for
in
satisfying
the
of
employment,
located near
2.
needs
for
the
majority
In order to minimize travel
low-income groups.
places
housing
costs
use
of
from
Site and Service schemes were to be
industrial areas.
Improve standards of dwelling units
in slum areas.
However,
additional squatter settlements were to be discouraged.
3. Introduce
rent control to prevent abuses by landlords, while
ensuring a profitable return for the landlord on the capital
invested
4. Subject
in housing.
to
the
of
availability
provide
funds,
tenant-purchase housing for those that could afford it.
Rural
approach
Development
housing
differ
of
people themselves
objectives
from
some
rural housing
(Kenya, 1979,
derived from the "basic needs"
urban
housing
objectives.
is to be undertaken by the rural
p.
173).
The
role
of
the
-32-
government
in
rural
is to be one of encouraging the
housing
improvement of rural housing conditions through the
"self help"
approach.
Case For, and Criticisms of, the BNA
needs"
1979)
(Ghai, 1979, Streeten,
Proponents
summarize
approach
for
the
"basic
rationale for a "basic needs"
the
approach as follows:
1. The
needs
basic
and
resources,
resource use.
a
achieve
increases
The
given
plan
development
"basic
needs"
approach
sooner
objective
solely
productivity
the
based
mobilizes
resources,
saves
approach
on
than
an
obtained from
therefore
can
a
can
housing
income-oriented
approach.
2. The resource gap in the provision of basic
needs
would
closed or narrowed in terms of meeting the needs of Kenya
be
is
low-income groups and achieving the government's objectives.
3. The "basic needs" approach is valid in its own right because
it raises productivity and lowers reproductiSty.
Critics
of the "basic needs" approach find fault with the
definition of basic needs itself.
to
The "basic
needs"
approach
housing development seemingly is a culmination of selective
features from twenty-five years of previous housing development
plans.
strategy
Even proponents,
refer
approach as being
such
as
Streeten
(1979),
for
the
to the initial definition of the "basic needs"
-33-
intellectually clumsy because of
the
difficulties
of
and of incorporating objectives other than
demarcation
it
needs;
basic
therefore
this definition tends to
generally,
More
unreality.
political
from
suffers
blur the features that distinguish the "basic needs"
it more
approach from other strategies and makes
thereby
and
difficult to define areas of disagreement
reach agreement.
(Streeten, 1979b, p.
he
that
finds
Here,
had comments about a revised definition.
also
Streeten
emphasizes
approach
the
43)
"paradigmatic
the
change."
its
of
defects
the
tactical
has
approach
This
controversy,
evoke
to
it tends
intellectual merits:
arouse opposition to certain aspects and may reduce the
changes of reaching agreement on action.
(Streeten, 1979b, p. 43)
acknowledge that the approach has both
does, however,
Streeten
intellectual
of
accused
political
and
old
pouring
simply
concealing behind a
polemical
serious analysis and experiment"
World
The
wine
slogan
acceptable
questions
may
distribution
seem
small,
but
calling
in using
for
43).
the "basic needs"
providing
adequate
within certain income constraints for
shelter
all except possibly those
income
be
into new bottles or of
approach have indicated the possibility of
and
cannot
it
(Streeten, 1979b, p.
experiences
Bank's
"because
appeal,
in the lowest 5 to 10 percent of
(World Bank, 1980, pp. 4-5).
if
one
considers
the
This figure
household
income
-34-
in
distribution
Nairobi,
low-income
entire
population
of
consists
distribution
percent" of the income
"lowest 5 to 10
the
example,
for
the
almost
(see Tables 2.3 and 2.4).
group
suggesting
In effect, studies conducted by the World Bank
the
BNA as a good approach to Kenya's housing problems would not be
of
The low-income groups would still be
to Kenya.
help
much
In fact,
without homes.
it seems as if World
strategies
Bank
for low-income housing never seem able to accommodate the needs
of the lowest 20 percent of income groups.
with
Continuing
the
approach, we find that the
an
becoming
endangered
of
criticisms
of
concept
code
word
"basic
the
is
needs
basic
needs"
(Stewart, 1979, p.
fast
1).
poor
some, the concept of providing for the basic needs of the
a futile attempt to redistribute income and provide
represents
corresponding
welfare services to the poor without stimulating
increases
in
their
(World
image
the
Bank,
1980a,
p.
conspiracy
32).
to
Yet,
deny
others
a
move
dependent on the developed world
it
as
a
and
thereby keeping them
289).
(Frank, 1980, p.
The question remains to be whether the
want
view
industrialization
modernization to the developing countries,
This
of
socialism, with reference being made to China and Cuba
capitalist
they
To others,
productivity to pay for them.
the "basic needs" approach conjures up
towards
To
poor
obtain
what
or what some external authority believes they need.
remains
distributional
the
central
dilemma,
conflict
similar
because
there
exists
a
to the one inherent in using
statistics on average Gross National Product as
a
measure
of
-35-
Table
2.3
Shares of GNP
Accruing to Income Groups in Kenya
Share of Total
Income
1969
1976
of
4.1
6.2
Richest 10% of
Population
56.3
37.7
Poorest 25%
Population
Source:
Killick, Tony
(ed.),
(%)
Papers on the Kenyan Economy:
Performance, Problems and Policies, Nairobi, Heinemann
Educational Books, Ltd.,
p.
9.
-36-
Table 2.4
Nairobi Household Income Distribution, 1974
Household
Income Group
Mean per capita
Income
(KSh/mo.)
Percent
Population
Percent
Income
(KSh/mo.)
0-99
15.3
1.0
0.05
100-199
71.6
1.0
0.21
200-299
91.2
6.5
1.80
300-399
100.6
8.0
2.45
400-499
147.7
6.0
2.73
500-699
143.9
14.1
6.19
700-999
179.2
18.1
9.88
1,000-1,499
288.0
17.6
15.49
1,500-1,999
291.0
8.4
7.44
2,000-2,499
386.0
3.0
3.54
above 2,499
1,003.5
16.4
50.22
Source:
"Household Budget Survey," Central Bureau of Statistics.
table is reproduced from
Poverty and Growth in Kenya,
Growth and Structural Change in Kenya,
IBRD, 1981.
Annex I of
This
-37-
welfare.
The use of statistics as an indicator of average GNP
creates the
when
impression that Kenyans are
financially better
the majority of Kenyans are not.
off
The statistics are used
to support the existing economic development plans because
the
government has deemed the statistical proof more important then
the
human
condition.
plan priorities
literacy
increase
and
always
complete
The ranking of a country's development
occur.
"A
freedom
from
10
percent
increase
in
malaria or a 60 percent
in literacy and no improvement in
health"
(Morawetz,
1977, p. 44).
Housing
always
been
explanations
provisions
in
prioritized.
as
Kenya's
The
next
development
chapter
plans
have
provides
some
to why housing provisions have been important
in the development strategies of Kenya as well as to her
World
housing
countries.
policies,
Third
It presents an historical account of Kenya's
and
it
examines
performance of Kenya's housing sector.
and
critiques
the
-38CHAPTER THREE
HISTORY AND IMPLICATIONS
OF KENYA'S HOUSING POLICIES
Housing provisions are considered to be important
development of a developing country
social,
1.
"
and political reasons
Kenya) for economic,
Economic
Next to food, housing usually constitutes the second largest
(15% to 20%).
Investment in housing represents up to 20%
to 30%
capital
vigorous
formation
programs
e
the
(World Bank, 1975, pp. 4 and 5).
item of housing expenditure
*
(i.e.,
to
(Grimes,
in
1976,
countries
p.
fixed
housing
30).
Housing enables countries that
materials,
with
of
have
under-utilized
labor,
and financial resources to be more productive at
lower costs.
2. Social
*
Housing shelters people from the elements.
*
Housing provides
access
security, and education
*
to
jobs,
sanitation
(Stern, 1978, p.
facilities,
2).
Housing in proximity to employment is a way of saving people
time, and money.
*
Housing
is the principal transaction
by
which
communities
are created.
3. Political
*
Housing can be used
support.
as
a
tool
for
mobilizing
political
-39-
It
was
not
until
1966
officially became involved in
This
involvement
Sessional Paper
United
by
the
housing
(UN)
Kenya's housing needs
the
Kenya,
sponsored
Kenyan
(HRDU,
government
(Government of
Nations
that
was
government
1979,
p.
stipulated
1966/67),
Bloomberg/Abrams
in
a
following
a
Report
(Bloomberg and Abrams, 1964).
to the Housing Research and Development Unit
19).
on
According
(1979) report:
The
terms
of
reference
of
the
UN
Mission were to
conduct a study of short- and long-term housing
needs
and
to
make
recommendations
to
the
Government
on
housing policies within the
framework
of
social
and
Paper discussed inter-alia,
"the
issue of aided self-help schemes, which were identified as
the
economic development planning.
Consequently,
the
Sessional
(p. 19)
panacea for the housing problems facing the disadvantaged urban
workers.
The
paper
endorsed
a recommendation to the effect
that a National Housing Authority be established to
housing
programs,
authorities"
particularly
(HRDU, 1979, p. 19).
those
relating
coordinate
to the local
As a result of the UN
study
recommendation, the National Housing Corporation was founded
1967,
to
succeed
the now defunct Central Housing
Board.
in
The
Corporation's responsibilities were to deal with the practical,
technical,
particularly
1979,
p.
and
administrative
dimensions
those pertaining to project
of
implementation
the
(HRDU,
19).
The Government's initial allocation of funds
in
housing,
1970-74
National
Development
Plan
for
housing
(NDP) came as no
-40-
surprise because
occur
in
the
Sessional paper.
at
the
industrialization
reluctant in
achievement
(Kenya,
as
of
1969).
rapid
Thus,
this
21).
growth
Kenya
through
was
somewhat
resources into
far as fixing a maximum cost limit of Kb1,200 per unit
would
Housing
that
cost
over
have to be taken care of by the Housing Finance
At that
envisioned
a
was
objective
Company of Kenya, together with the private sector
p.
would
For example, the National Development Plan
for housing financed from NDP funds.
KL1,200
and
investing much of their capital and
housing production.
went
that
The only problem at the time,
that the development strategy
however, was
aimed
indications already existed
time,
economists
and
(HRDU, 1979,
government
officials
the provision of public housing as an investment
non-productive
sector,
and
they
argued
that
the
in
same
resources could have been used to purchase more machinery or to
build
more
factories
(Wu,
1979,
pp.
38-39).
government later realized that their policies
between
demands
of
public
effective national growth
still
persisted)
(Stern,
(in
housing
and
essence,
1978,
pp.
The Kenyan
raised
the
the
conflict
promotion
housing
220-221).
problem
For example,
after a new City Council housing list was established, it
rapidly--reaching 27,756 by March 1975.
of
grew
As the Economic Survey
commented:
In
Nairobi
60 percent of the people on
[this]
waiting
list earned less than K.Sh.833 a month compared with
a
rental
of K.Sh.650 a month for a three-bedroom flat in
Nairobi's most recently completed housing scheme.
The
sharp
rise
in
building
costs
is
making
it
now
progressively more difficult for people on low
incomes
to be provided with adequate housing.
(Kenya, 1975, p. 145)
-41-
Also
of
some
controversy
at
this
approach utilized by the government
problem
(Kenya,
time was the "self-help"
for
solving
the
housing
1969).
The rationale behind the "self-help" approach taken by the
government
of
Kenya
what they wanted.
better
was
that it allowed the people to build
The idea was that the
individual
is
in
a
position to provide more suitable living conditions for
himself, and the individual can build a house at a cheaper rate
than can the government.
imply
The
assumption
of
self-help
that, because underemployment exists in the economy, the
individual will have the time to construct his own
is
would
also
assumed
that
and improve the quality of labor
seemingly
of
the
satisfy certain basic needs,
(Ghai, 1979, p. 33).
"self-help"
construction
time-period
might
means incurring more costs.
that
strategy
failed to take into consideration, however, that the
individual may be unskilled in housing construction.
longer
Hence,
a
be required to build a house, which
Not unrelated
to
this
fact,
is
an individual could adjust his time to be spent either in
the labor market
sometimes
have
or
with
his
family,
two or three jobs
since
Kenyan
(Kitching, 1980, p.
people
1).
person in the rural areas can be a farmer in the morning and
trader
It
the self-help approach will be able to
economize resources and materials,
Proponents
house.
in
the
afternoon.
The value of time
The
a
(in essence, the
opportunity cost) for this person would therefore be considered
-42-
(Ghai, 1979, p. 33).
high
The main
criticism
"self-help"
therefore, is that the government cannot just assume
projects,
individual constructs
that the costs will be cheaper if an
own
of
In fact, the government may also be taking away the
home.
jobs of private
concept.
his
contractors
when
employing
the
"self-help"
Contracts that are supposed to be allocated for small
contractors
have been known to end up in the hands of brothers
or tribesmen of the elite, who probably prefer to build housing
for upper-income groups so as to gain more profit
The purpose of
therefore
providing
homes
low-income
housing
policy
somewhat
changed
by
housing
design
and
is
for the 1974-78 Development Plan was
incorporating
constructed
a
construction
Government determined standards.
(HRDU,
1979,
government
an
to
accordance
That is to say, each
action
21).
In
against
slum
a
kitchen
addition,
further
clearance
the
the
and Services]
with
housing
Strategy
for Housing
Policy
toilet
advocated
of
squatter
spread
through
and
plan
the
resettlement, and improving of sub-standard urban
essence,
streamline
in an urban setting would be expected to have
p.
settlements,
desire
in
a minimum of two habitable rooms, plus
1973).
families
self-defeating.
The
unit
for
(Leys, 1974).
process
of
housing
(in
[for example, Sites
was aimed at areas of high unemployment)
(Kenya,
Similarly, by addressing itself to such issues as unit
cost, services,
zoning, and affordability, the plan constituted
a very significant chapter i4 the history of housing policy and
programming
in Kenya
(HRDU, 1979, p.
21).
For example,
for the
-43-
1974-78 plan period, there was
allocation
of
was Kh34.5
million
increase
funds for housing.
as
compared
previous five-year period"
The
an
1979-83
to
Kbl4.9
Plan
policies or programs for housing.
Research and Development Unit
230%
in
the
"The total amount allocated
(HRDU, 1979, p.
Development
of
did
million
in
the
any
new
26).
offer
not
According
to
the
Housing
(1979) report:
it merely underlines the policies and programmes of the
previous plan, notably those aspects regarding squatter
upgrading,
promotion
of
the
sites
and
services
strategy, and the advancement of the housing
interests
of the disadvantaged urban worker.
(p. 21)
Allocation
increased
for housing
by 66%
in the 1979-83 Development Plan was
(in essence, KB57.2 million)
Table 3.1
is a breakdown of funds
1964
1983
to
by
from the table,
allocated
the government of Kenya.
the
housing
fund
(see Table 3.1).
to
housing
form
As we can observe
allocation
has
increased
virtually every year.
Considering
Government to
expected
be
solve
that
impressive.
the
the
attention
Kenya's
housing
and
money
problem,
were
it
would
be
performance of the housing sector would be
as
will
in the analysis presented in the next section.
of Housing Performance
In 1979, when the fourth development plan was
we
spent by the
Instead, the opposite has been the case,
demonstrated
Indicators
all
told
introduced,
that the current short-fall of units located
in
Table 3.1
Annual Allocation of Development Funds
for Housing
Public and Private Sectors (Planned) 1964-1983
Year
(1964-68)
Year
(1969-73)
Funds
Allocated to
Housing
Funds
Allocated to
Housing
Funds
Allocated to
Housing
Funds
Allocated to
Housing
Year
(1974-78)
Year
(1979-83)
1964
N/A
1969
N/A
1974
25.14
1979
38.22
1965
N/A
1970
13.32
1975
28.36
1980
47.27
1966
N/A
1971
18.32
1976
32.71
1981
48.44
1967
N/A
1972
20.31
1977
36.07
1982
48.82
1968
N/A
1973
23.29
1978
42.06
1983
51.36
TOTAL
N/A
Sources:
75.25
National Development Plans
(1964-70; 1970-74; 1974-78; 1979-83)
164.34
234.11
-45-
To
172).
p.
(Kenya, 1979,
urban areas came to 140,000 units
the present demand for houV§ng, 30,000 units needed to be
meet
This, of
constructed annually.
that is
account the rapid urban growth rate of approximately 7%
110).
(Farugee, 1978, p.
now occurring
proposed
of
performaonTe
data
Nevertheless,
that
This
sector.
housing
the
are usually used are obtained from a
probably
Survey
for
targets
1979 Central Bureau fo Statistics
areas.
or evaluation of the current
assessment
accurate
an
is difficult to
it
Due to the inadequacy of reliable data,
provide
into
take
not
does
course,
Survey
(CBS) Rent
provides
most
the
urban
of
accurate
(see
coverage of the housing stock that is currently available
Table 3.2).
table is a breakdown of the existing housing stock
The
urban areas by ownership pattern.
over
that
80%
of
the
urban
A
stock
brief
shows
examination
is owned by the private
sector, 23%
of which are squatter settlements
housing).
The
picture
in
(i.e.,
informal
of the public sector is worse when we
consider that the public sector consists of staff
housing
and
private rental units constructed prior to 1976.
One of the goals of the housing policy for Kenya of having
each
individual own at least a two-room dwelling unit is yet to
be realized
Table
(see Table 3.3).
3.3
also
provides
information
structures and tenancy statutes of the private
on
the
housing
types of
stock.
An examination of the table shows that by the end of 1979, only
4%
of
the
housing stock was owner-occupied.
The majority of
-46-
Table 3.2
Percentage Distribution of Urban Dwelling Units
by Sector, 1979 (percent) (a)
Private Sector
Formal (b)
Informal (c)
64
18
82
Sub-Total
Public Sector
Local Authorities
Central Government (d)
Sub-Total
10
8
18
Notes:
(a)
A dwelling unit is defined as a place of residence for a family,
an individual, or a group of persons eating together and sharing
the budget for common provisions. A single housing structure
may contain multiple dwelling units.
(b)
Includes site and service plots provided by the public sector.
(c)
Informal housing includes both squatter settlements and housing
developed ty land-owners who have not completed the required
legal procedures of sub-division and registration. Much of the
latter type of housing is owned by land companies, such as those
holding large tracts of Marthare Valley in Nairobi.
(d)
Includes public boards and corporations.
"Report on the 1979 Rent Survey in Urban Areas of Kenya,
Source:
CBS, 1981.
-47-
Table 3.3
Local Authority Housing Stock, 1969,80
1969
%
Number
Type
1976
%1
Number
1980
Number
/0
27,092
90
30,674
80
34,820
69
Tenant Pruchase
1,852
6
4,185
11
6,243
12
Site-and-Service Plots
1,321
4
3,593
9
9,861
19
30,265
100
38,452
100
50,924
100
Rental Housing
TOTAL
Source:
Up to 1974,
HRDU, 1978.
"Local Authority Housing in Kenya,"
Thereafter, NHC Annual Reports
-48-
tenants
(84%)
lived
Over
self-contained.
dwelling
units
that
were
Scheme
Housing
instance, two-thirds of the residents were tenants and only
of
one-fifth
occupied by a single household
were
plots
of
Even though the renting
urban
encouraged, housing standards and lower costs
now
in
housing
the
Introduction).
(Soni, 1980,
of
Lowering the costs
have caused additional problems.
Sites
Services Housing Schemes so that they can be affordable by
and
adopting
the lowest third of the income distribution has meant
to
unacceptable
generally
standards
the
responsible
(Tanzania, for instance),
countries
other
other
to
Compared
for subletting.
exceptionally high, particularly the
populations and found several
them are listed below
(1)
Despite
the
developments,
projects
in
project
(Serga,
tenant
and allottee
Some
results.
interesting
of
(Serga, Neleti and Associates, 1980):
similarities
residents
and
population
factors
Monitoring studies
compared
have
project
Dandora
often
subletting has been
Dandora
Neleti and Associates, 1980, Report No. 8).
the
government
socio-economic
the
determine
or
realize
to
fails
local authorities.
the
Even with the acceptance of subletting,
of
not
of the urban households
three-quarters
In the Dandora Site and Service
were renters.
for
in
that
of
exist
between
housing
informal
urban
tenant
tenant population shows higher incomes from
employment than do the the original allottees.
(2)
population
Overcrowding
and
residents who
is
still
present
those allocated spaces.
sublet apartments have
no
among
the
tenant
Three-quarters of the
intention
of
giving
-49-
(Serga, Neleti and Associates, 1980,
at any time soon
up,
them
Report No. 8).
the
What
policy
government
providing
of
increase
population
for low-income families
to
want
why the government would
present
single-family
is
occupancy
have to be raised as to
Questions would
probably unrealistic.
present
the
that
is
indicate
data
above
the
considering
this,
do
and very tight housing situation
(see Table 3.4).
The 1979 rent survey has also indicated an increase in the
annum,
per
sector and 1.4%
this
Although
an
with
average increase of 9.9% for the private
for the public sector
figure
8.1%
of
rate
number of dwelling units in urban areas, at the
1979).
(CBS Rent Survey,
is compatible with data on the value of
residential building plans approved by different municipalities
(see Table 3.5),
be
more
a
approvals.
number
of
reliable indication of activity than the number of
plan
For example, a single building
houses
building
Furthermore,
the
period
1976-80
of
value
a
public
plans was no more than a fraction of the
value of private building plans and showed little
the
cover
can
for a community but approved building plans
may never be constructed.
residential
to
considered
the value of building plans is
(CBS
Rent
Survey,
1979).
growth
over
Perhaps this
justifies the conclusion that "performance of the public sector
and not necessarily the private sector has been deficient"
(CBS
Rent Survey, 1979).
On the other hand, the housing problem in
rural
areas
is
not so much that of shortages in actual physical structures, as
Table 3.4
Urban Growth Projections to Year 2000 (in 000's)
2000
1979
2000
(Actual)
(Based on 1969-79
Growth Rates) (a)
Population
(Based on 1962-69
Growth Rates) (b)
% Share of
Urban Pop.
Population
% Share of
-Urban Pop.
Population
% Share of
Urban Pop.
Nairobi
828
36
2,300
27
3,500
41
Mombasa
341
15
700
8
1,100
13
1,138
49
5,100
59
3,500
41
500
6
500
6
8,600
100
8,600
100
Other Existing Centers
New Urban Centers
--
--
100
2,307
TOTAL
Percentage of Population
Living in Urban Areas
15
28
28
Notes:
(a)
Assumed growth rates:
Nairobi, 5.0%; Mombasa, 3.3%; other existing centers, 7.4%.
(b) As given in "Human Settlements in Kenya," pp. 88-95. The estimages shown are
an average of the high and low projections for the major cities and generally
assume some diminuation of the 1962-69 growth rates.
Source:
World Bank, World Development Report, Washington, D.C., World Bank Publications,
1979.
U,
-51-
Table 3.5
Value of Residential Building Plans
Approved by Municipalities 1976-80 (KEOOO)
Private
Nairobi City
Public
Other
Nairobi City
Other
Mun icipalities
Council
Municipalities
Year
Council
1976
6,927
4,440
598
1,364
1977
15,177
4,072
2,965
125
1978
26.202
8,266
4,716
540
1979
33,641
12,808
1,765
693
1980
53,238
10,827
1,322
1,637
Source:
Economic Survey, 1981, CBS.
-52-
that
of
the poor condition of these structures and the general
areas.
urban
in
resources
investment
of
imbalance
urban facilities, causing an
on
pressure
under
have
would
migrants
institutional arrangements because these
placed
problem on
additional
an
considered
be
would
areas
to
migration
Similarly,
and economically able.
of its young
been
The
settlements.
rural
of rapid urbanization has depleted the rural community
process
urban
the
in
facilities
lack of service
the result over the years may have also resulted
Consequently,
in a stagnation of rural development.
Apart from the possible stagnation in
water
to where people live have been lacking.
close
supplies
Environmental Secretariat,
(National
supplied
be
will
areas
will not be until the year 2000 that all rural
satisfactorily
all
of
percent
on pipe-borne water supply, and it
now
are
population
fifteen
only
Presently it is estimated that
rural
settlements,
rural
1978, p. 6).
of
Availability
to
prerequisite
its supply
is
population
growth.
Independence.
and
In
also
has
the
territorial
past,
land
land
has
the
been
limited
a
inherited
now
been
boundaries
with
government made land
projects
development
trust
This
the
by
limited
available for various
government
a
obviously
Land has been a scarce commodity in that
Kenya.
in
is
development, yet the problems associated with
the availability of desirable land
resource
area
rural
in
land
from
at
unalienated
the
time
exhausted.
government's reason for lack of involvement in rural housing
of
The
is
-53-
due
fact
the
to
that
incomes are not high enough to
rural
demand housing of high standards
(Farugee, 1978, p. 3).
Another indicator of the housing market is the behavior of
Nairobi,
for
indices
rental
presents
by three income groups.
stratified
that
3.6
Table
rents.
The data provided indicate
increases in rental prices for upper-income residents have
to
1975
1979,
have
groups
over
prices
corresponded with increases in other
period
the
while rentals for the middle- and lower-income
"shot
ahead"
of
other
price
The
changes.
low-income groups, in particular, have been the target for rent
Low-income
increases.
renters
often end up paying more than
what the house may have cost when originally constructed.
sector
These price changes show that although the housing
may
been
have
able to maintain an adequate provision for the
upper-income group, the middle- and
lower-income
been deprived from having "adequate" housing.
reflect the
the
groups
have
The implications
relative dominance of the private sector in serving
upper-income
group,
and to some extent the middle-income
On the other hand, the lower-income group does not have
group.
much choice but to depend on the public sector for
its
housing
provision.
What
all of the above data and
indicators have suggested,
is that the public sector in particular
terms
of
Policy
Implementation,
urban housing resulting from rapid
will
be
revised
so
needs
in
as to meet the need for
growth.
and new policies adopted
"will" on the part of those concerned.
improvement
Whether
policies
is also a matter of
Table 3.6
Rent Index for Nairobi, 1975-79
by Income Group (a)
5-Year
Change in
Income Group
Upper Income
Annual Change
1974
96.9
Middle Income
Annual Change
96.2
Lower Income
Annual Change
95.3
Residential
Cost Index (c)
n.a.
Year (b)
1979
1978
1977
1976
164.2
145.7
135.1
115.6
18.5
10.6
19.5
6.3
1975
109.3
12.4
n.a.
215.5
198.9
181.0
17.9
17.4
23.7
39.7
10.3
18.7
16.6
January-June 1975 = 100
(a)
Base:
(b)
Computed at December of each year.
(c)
Base:
December 1972 = 100
n.a. = not available
Source:
79.1
61.9
Ul
205.1
187.7
161.0
124.3
140.0
Index
67.3
16.6
12.4
25.8
9.4
14.9
175.3
158.7
146.3
120.5
111.1
Rent
5-Year
Change in
Price Index
for All Other
Commodities
71.5
"Statistical Abstract," Central Bureau of Statistics.
n.a.
109.8
78.8
-55-
Conclusion
From the policy point of
problem
housing
from surveys of the homeless,
derived
are
plan,
overcrowding, below-standard housing, and projected
change
and
hand, essentially involve a comparison of incomes
Theoretically,
bridging
would just require either the
reducing of prices (ILO, 1976).
in
practice.
the
that
prices.
gap between need and demand
of
increasing
incomes
the
or
However, it is not that simple
For example, it is possible that having realized
the magnitude of the housing problem
argue
population
of demand, on the other
Estimates
depreciation.
and
fourth
the
Estimates of housing needs, such as those cited in
development
in
characterized as a gap between need and demand.
be
can
Kenya
the
view,
instead
of
the
in
Kenyan
Kenya,
adopting
government
"self-help" approach to housing, what would seem
could
anyone
more
a
logical
to solving the housing problem would be to raise the incomes of
poverty
groups.
Supporters of this view argue that this could
be in the form of:
(i) changing the relative prices of
services
materials
and
labor
that the poor provide, compared with prices of things
that they purchase;
(ii) introducing consumption transfers
that
benefit
the
poor;
(iii)
introducing investment transfers to the poor; and
(iv)
redistributing part of the existing stock of capital
to the poor, by such measures as land reform (ILO, 1977).
-56It
This may be so, but would this really be the solution?
is certainly not as simple as
of
would
redistribution
have to be combined with progressive
effective
taxation and redistribution of assets in order to be
Relative price changes are not capable of
34).
(ILO, 1977, p.
changes would be marginal, and these price changes
secondary
incomes
consumed
by the poor.
Hence,
of
income
one"--distribution
increase
may
higher
designed for the poor,
groups
income
other
lead
For
price
and
the poor will be "back to square
remained
by the poor only.
realized
cost
the
virtually
Furthermore, no one can be certain that the
be
could
initial impact.
that phase out the
effects
example,
would
Any
the share of income that the poor would receive.
altering
to
methods
First, these
it sounds.
unchanged.
increase of
Public housing projects
for example, have been known to
than the poor
incomes
benefit
(World Bank, "Shelter,"
p.
8).
Other related criticisms of
stemmed
from
the
fact
provide adequate personal
remain,
needs
such
as
that,
the
while
"income
education,
rent,
safe
some
needs can be provided for only through public effort
said to
an
basic
water, and
sewage, that cannot be bought by the private individual.
1979, p. 7).
have
the income approach may
income to pay the
health,
approach"
These
(Streeten,
This notwithstanding, the income approach is also
ignore those individuals who are incapable
of
earning
income--the unemployables--and that it ignores non-material
needs
(Streeten, 1979, p.
7).
-57-
Given the weaknesses of
one would wonder
approaches,
Nevertheless,
issue
or
problem
housing
the
to
both
income
the
whether these suggested solutions
any
have
relevance.
actual
matter what approach is adopted,
no
self-help
and
the crucial
still remains, that of how to transform such an
policy
into a successful outcome.
is neglected by both proponents and
approach
This is one aspect that
opponents
Policy
alike.
implementation is a crucial process that determines the kind of
success
further highlight
chapter
that
(outcome)
will
constraints have
e
this
consider
should be expected of any policy.
point,
specific
the
analysis
cases
where
in
the
To
next
institutional
impeded the performance of housing policy.
-58-
CHAPTER FOUR
CONSTRAINTS IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF "BASIC NEEDS" APPROACH
IN KENYA'S HOUSING POLICY
Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to
identify the constraints
demonstrate
in
this
experienced
in
Kenya
today are primarily the result of three
first
(the
factors
institutional
will
problems
housing
the
that
chapter
author
The
problems.
housing
Kenya's
to
approach
needs"
"basic
pevent which preVent the implementation of the
which
of
two
are
interrelated).
A.
the lack of clear objectives
B. the
translate
to
inability
(Formulation)
programs
into
policies
(Centralization)
C. the
problem
of
redistribution
and
acquisition
land
(Resources).
A.
Formulation
The problem of formulation will be examined in the context
of
BNA's
inability
clarify
to
in
objections
its
housing
policies as exemplified in urban informal housing developments.
the
In order to achieve this goal, the history of
the
urban
informal
sector
is presented.
institutional factors relevant to urban
addressed.
Subsequently,
constraints
in
concluding,
the
urban
institutional
informal
housing
origins
of
A statement of the
informal
factors
are
housing
are
that act as
analyzed.
In
alternative approaches aimed at resolving the
-59-
suggests
also
housing
in
deficiencies
for
cause
the
housing programs is
author
effectively implement
to
inability
the
that
The
assessed.
problems of urban informal housing are
policies.
General Background
study was done by the International Labor Organization,
A
problem
in 1972, on Kenya's unemployment income and inequality
Incomes
"Employment,
(ILO,
and
Equality,"
The study
1972).
recommended several things, one of which was for the government
the
of Kenya to recognize
which
to
sector
new
by
entry
had
enterprises
is
(ILO, 1972):
identified the informal sector as being
(i) A
study
The
sector.
informal
comparatively easy
resources
indigenous
Enterprises in this sector rely on
(ii)
and are family-owned.
(iii) Enterprises operate on a small scale
and
competitive
(v) Enterprises use labor-intensive and adapted
technologies
(iv) Enterprises
operate
in
unregulated
markets
workers
(vi) Enterprise
have
skills
outside
acquired
the
formal school system.
The
ILO's
inequality
assessment
problems,
identification
to what
500?).
the
of
of
Kenya's
however,
is
unemployment,
faulted
the informal sector
is meant by "small scale"
(in
income, and
there
essence,
the
in
because
is no clarity as
is
it
10
or
Most of the definitions given could very well apply to
formal sector as well.
-60-
identifying
Bearing the difficulty and lack of clarity in
attempt
an
(1972)
comply
not
legal regulations on planning
(in
areas
residential
of
do
that
those urban areas
one or more of the existing
or development
define urban informal
to
made
been
has
housing to include all
with
informal sector, by the ILO
ideal definition of the
what is the
squatter
essence,
settlements).
the population living in urban areas
of
most
Kenya,
In
standard"
have had to live in houses that have not been "up to
in
eyes
the
officials had tried unsuccessfully to
Kenyan
the
result,
elsewhere
people
force
diminish
to
and
settlements
squatter
attitudes
simply
moved
people
from
numbers.
As a
the
their
towards
In the past,
and other inadequate housing.
settlements
urban
official
in
occurred
(1974) have changes
Only recently
(Dwyer, 1975).
of the authorities
settlements
their
(these settlements were cheap to construct),
and the
problem persisted.
With the increase in informal housing areas and the
of
people
rural
from
needed to evaluate
undertaken
by
their
various
to
urban areas,
planners.
the Kenyan government
Different
policies.
drift
studies
Interestingly
were
enough, the
informal housing areas proved to possess some positive features
(see Etherton,
Ma-rheae,
Veley, 1971).
In terms of social aspects,
the
social
scientists
point
out that there often exists a closely knit system that develops
in
the
informal sector.
The people in these areas are able to
develop social relations with each other since they
share
the
-61-
common
In this regard,
inadequate accommodation.
of
problems
the people in the informal sector are able to
Assuming this
system.
the
against
political
mobilize
to
areas
fight
is true, the closely knit
system present in these informal areas can
these
to
unite
enable
to
support
of
leaders
serve their
interests in times of election.
view,
From an economic point of
provide a
of
force
large percentage of the labor
providing cheap rental accommodation for
the
most
incomes
(or "reserve army
functions is
economic
main
their
of
one
and
labor"),
areas
housing
informal
these
With
people.
the informal housing residents receive,
of
they cannot afford to live elsewhere.
these areas have even turned
to
Some of the residents
subletting
homes
their
in
for
(Etherton, 1971, p. 90).
extra income
Surprisingly,
the
development of many informal
physical
housing areas, especially the more traditional
are
ones,
not
always entirely deplorable.
With
the result of the study showing positive features of
the informal housing areas, the
is
there
much
question
remains
as
to
why
concern about the development of these housing
areas.
From the point of view of the inhabitants, the
the
question
about
why
by
the
officials
as
is
ne-t
that
they
are not
structures.
The
legal ordinances
has
legalized
failure of these areas to comply with all
meant
to
so much concern exists regarding the
development of informal housing areas
recognized
answer
that the usual urban services, such as pipe-borne water,
-G2-
roads, electricity and social amenities, are often not provided
This has resulted in the inhabitants having
by the government.
in
incentive
little
the inhabitants having
resulted
of legal security has also
lack
The
themselves.
in
their
improving
3).
(Hoek-Smit, 1976, p.
homes or living environment
for
services
urban
these
all
found other ways of providing
authorities have argued that it is necessary to bring
The
for
allow
will
this
that
anticipated
rationale
Their
institutions.
within
sector
the informal housing
adequate
an
that they
is
so
doing
legal
of
framework
the
control
of
development to be exercised over a scarce item like urban land.
It
make
it possible
land,
businesses,
also
will
from
revenue
Moreover,
informal
for the government to acquire
homes
and
1975).
(Dwyer,
housing areas have the stereotype of being
breeding grounds for criminals and are places considered to
hazardous
to
one's health because of the overcrowding and the
used
be
may
practice,
in
for
however,
political
is
purposes,
government embarks on demolition of these areas to
to
are
areas
officials as "eyesores" that need to be demolished.
by
What generally happens
areas
housing
More importantly, these
lack of services.
viewed
be
whereby
"hazardous" areas
(Mbithi and
the
demonstrate
the elites or other pressure groups that something
done about these
these
that
Barnes,
is being
1975).
The overriding issue therefore is in trying to incorporate
these
areas
into
physical quality of
services,
the
legal
framework.
structures,
socio-economic
level
Factors, such as the
and
improbability
of
and political characteristics of the
-63-
in
classifications
1968).
These
raised
by
the
classifications
have
led
to
number
of
(see Turner,
questions
being
authorities concerned, as to whether or not to
the
or
upgrade, redevelop,
settle
and
demolish
population
the
indecisiveness about what to do with informal
The
concerned.
areas
housing
informal
a
of
basis
the
form
population, have served to
housing has been reflected in Kenya's development plans.
Development Plan and Urban Informal Housing
Maintaining adequate standards of living and
the
primary
concerning
informal
been
Various
Kenya's
of
emphasis
development
plans
p.
172).
(Kenya,
areas
housing
1979,
building and planning by-laws have been undertaken and
will
the formalization of such areas has meant that they
to
with these legal regulations.
comply
factors that have stimulated the "positive
in
housing
informal
areas
(described
embarks upon.
failure
could
intervention
reactionary groups and result in
government
wants
development be
priorities
of
to
be maintained.
social
the
towards
ought to be
government
be
the
because
foundation
upheaval
(which
of
any
income
level
and
the
the inhabitants of these informal housing areas
This would mean that the low-rent character
income opportunities--such as
informal
earlier)
Economists have suggested that
avoid).
directed
(Hoek-Smit, 1980).
and
observed
features"
The government cannot ignore the sector,
of
have
Needless to say, the
in any development strategy the Kenyan
incorporated
the
has
housing
It
has
also
income from subletting--would
been
housing areas that the
suggested
in
studies
of
inhabitants need opportunities
-64-
participate
to
that
to
able
better
be
will
living
own
The assumption involved
49).
inhabitants' participation is
authorities
their
of
improvement
the
(Hoek-Smit, 1970, p.
environment
in the
in
by
doing
so,
the
to
the
contribute
maintenance of the existing community.
Though obtaining development input from the inhabitants of
informal housing areas is easier said than done, it
realized
that if all development input in informal areas comes
be
from the outside sources, then the result possibly would
the implementations.
in
disruption
action may be initiated by informal housing area
sympathizers.
needed to
stimulate
assist
and
terms
in
inhabitants,
inhabitants or
funds
Public
public low-cost housing, and measures will be
to
limited
This
plans.
In addition, it might be expended without
meeting the essential needs of these residents.
are
a
It may also result in the
development
re-evaluation of the housing policy
their
be
should
of
(1980), who did a study on
private
both labor and capital.
informal
by
investment
housing,
the
Hoek-Smit
what
described
such measures would entail.
(i) the provision of security and tenure to the house-owners,
both
as an incentive for
the individual owners to
invest
in their homes and as security for obtaining a loan;
(ii)
the development of a loan system that is
suitable
to
house-owners;
(iii)
the
promotion
the
needs
of
the
accessible
and
often diverse group of
and
and
the
realization
of
the
self-help
potential through a community development program.
-65-
it
Furthermore,
of
acknowledge
to
imperative
organizations
extent the existing
legal
and
regulations
informal housing areas along the lines of these
of the existing
Some
to what
in
either a barrier or a strong basis for development
form
Kenya
is
policies
regulatory
objectives.
regulations would come from institutional
regarding
housing
minimum
standards,
building codes, and a public health act.
Standards
Controversy exists between many economists and planners as
to
what
is
inhabitants.
considered
"adequate"
housing standards for the
There is little argument, however, that the units
have to be cheap and affordable as a prerequisite
Many
housing.
of
the
inhabitants
of
adequate
are poor, and studies on
housing preferences of inhabitants of these areas show that the
price is critical;
units
such
less importance is placed on the quality
(Peattie and Doeble, 1976).
Also of importance
the amount of space surrounding the house and the
of
services
1975).
by
the
is
availability
such as water, roads, and street lighting
regulations
Hoek-Smit noted that the building
of
(Dwyer,
imposed
government do not allow for people to build affordable
homes they desire to, and as a a
development in these areas
result
there
is
a
lack
of
(Hoek-Smit, 1976, p. 5).
The Building Code
In
Kenya,
the building code is comprised of two separate
local government orders, namely Grade I and
(Hoek-Smit,
1976).
Grade
II
By-laws
Grade I By-Laws cover private high-quality
-66-
structures,
structures
(Hoek-Smit,
the
However, a problem
By-laws will be considered here.
II
Grade
housing),
(informal
concerned with low-quality structures
are mostly
we
Since
5).
p.
1976,
low-quality
cover
By-Laws
II
Grade
whereas
exists in that there are situations where some informal housing
This
location).
(because of
areas are granted Grade I status
presents a problem in that an upgrading to a Grade II status is
needed
set of Grade II By-laws can be applicable.
the
before
structural standards
Grade
(Hoek-Smit, 1976, pp. 7,
by-laws
II
for
allow
minimum
standards
low-cost
In
suitable.
8).
conditions
soil
and
are
position of water-home
the
housing,
II
sanitation provided that
home
maintained
Grade
sanitation,
In terms of
non-water,
are
and
have stipulations regarding sanitation
and building construction.
by-laws
space,
materials,
into
summarized
These By-Laws can be
sanitary facilities often accounts for one-third to one-half of
can
be
thus
Sanitation
(depending on its size).
the total cost of a house
a
considered
crucial
With regards to
factor.
materials, Grade II by-laws allow for the use of "temporary" or
Mud and
"substitute" material for walls.
cement
blocks,
and
iron
corrugated
wattle,
mud-bricks,
roof
the
for
are
frequently-used substitutes.
Space and structural
construction
considering
standards
quality
provide
a
and materials.
are often non-existing which means homes are not
Any
sort
of
improvement
therefore have to begin from
on
the
the
existing
foundation
problem
when
Foundations
very
sturdy.
structures would
level.
On
the
-67-
other
there is some flexibility in Grade II by-laws with
hand,
the
have
Rooms may not always
regards to space requirements.
required sizes and heights (Dwyer, 1975).
is also provided in the planning standards in
Flexibility
often
only
the
with
of the commissioner of lands,
approval
and/or the medical officer of
though
rules,
certain
waive
the sense that the Councils can
the
or
department
health
the
chief health inspector (Kasner, 1977).
According
to
possess adequate staffing
other
stringently
or
they
by-laws
alternatives
other
investigate
those
than
Consequently,
successfully.
burden
Much of the
7).
is left to local authorities, who often do not
enforcement
available,
Grade II by-laws "allow far too
(Hock-Smit, 1977, p.
much flexibility"
of
Hoek-Smit,
to
previously
are
have
used
applied
often
higher standards are imposed on new structures
(Hoek-Smit, 1977, p.
8).
Public Health Act
in
If interpretation and application posed a problem
case
of
the
of building codes, it is an- even more serious in the case
the
Public
Health
Act,
which
general
provides
health
requirements and leaves it to national and local authorities
translate
these into measurable building requirements
to
(section
126 of the Public Health Act).
The Public Health Act's lack of
definitive policies leaves
susceptible
discretion
it
to
the
whims
or
of medical officers who have the power to turn down
final approvals of any building or housing scheme on grounds of
what they feel to be undesirable developments
(Hoek-Smit, 1977,
-68-
also
result
in decision-makers making conservative choices
public health field.
Without research providing information on
problems of the Public Health Act, it is
and
ill-effects
in
the
in
done
is
policy implementation until further research
the
Act
Poorly defined guidelines in the Public Health
9).
pp. 8,
if the attitudes of the officials are going to change.
doubtful
Conclusion
in
highly
seems
desirable
any
In
flexibility is tolerated by the officials.
improvement
some
although
standards,
planning
there
housing,
framework that specifically address
exists no legal
schemes
informal
urban
of
From our observation
degree
of
case,
it
that a consistent and workable set of
a
planning standards be used as
of
set
the
for
guidelines
improvement of informal residential areas.
Informal housing areas differ considerably in their layout
and
They
density.
range
from areas with a highly irregular
layout and high densities to areas with a planned layout and an
As a
acceptable density of rooms per housing area.
in
irregularities
these
informal
housing
result
areas,
of
policy
regulations are impeded.
Plot size, space
problems
outstanding
requirements,
for designing an
sizes vary a great deal, and it is
upgrade
existing
to provide roads
according
to
structures.
and
public
Grade II by-laws
reserves
pose
improvement plan.
Plot
road
and
quite
often
expensive
to
Problems also arise from having
services
to
residential
plots
(Town Planning Handbook,
1971).
-69-
These problems are not easily resolved, partly because the
standards are not always applicable due to
urban
responsibility for and maintain roads that
take
to
reluctant
This has meant that
are not of high quality (Hoek-Smit, 1976).
astronomical
be
the cost of an improvement plan would
the
often
are
authorities
local
Furthermore,
regulations.
of
and the inconsistency of the planning
housing
informal
inconsistencies
unless
inhabitants possessed sufficient resources to maintain the
roads in their
area.
The
Bureau
Kenyan
of
Statistics
is
the revision of standards, in order to better meet
considering
(Hardoy
local requirements and local industry capabilities
Satterthwaite,
as
1981,
p.
178).
But,
wish
to
become
modernized
and
a Kenyan architect
points out,
his
In
the
noting
and
contempt with which his traditions were regarded by the
or
architect
African
Kenya's
powers,
colonial
has
whatever
unreservedly
administrator has accepted
up to now, joined his
has,
the
west and
from
come
local
the
disregarding
in
colleagues
western
traditional building materials and methods.
(Mann, 1968)
the question of self-reliance
Finally,
in the development
of informal housing areas is a question of how
stimulate
the
self-reliance
informal housing areas.
Informal
Housing
From
Development
of
our
the
needs of the poor in informal areas.
of
living
the
in
Urban
there exists the need to
plan,
identify which policy is best suited in
policy
population
observation
and
assist
to
helping
to
meet
the
Jorgensen suggests that a
that includes loan provision is best for rectifying the
problems of
Urban
Informal
Housing
(Jorgensen,
1975,
NHC,
-70-
1976).
In
contrast,
Kazner
proposes
that
government
intervention through the construction of public housing
poor as a resolution to
For
of
terms
in
instance,
and
Jorgansen's
in
limitations
recommendations.
Kazner's
(Kazner, 1977).
the housing problem
are
there
Obviously,
for the
the
proposed lending strategies there are several limitations:
1.
makes
The construction of affordable houses often
temporary
this
using
Construction
materials.
use
of
type
of
material cannot generally be financed by a loan as depicted
in housing regulations.
2.
may
They
1975).
program,
being
are
they
that
Ottenbin,
to
benefit
from a loan
not
healthy
enough
able
be
not
and
(Lewis
Many of the home-owners are elderly
to
Subcontracting will enrich only
construct their own homes.
a few and any repayment obligation will only be a burden on
the elderly because they receive no
housing
is
construction
that
that
belief
3. There is also the
often
used
for
the
home-owners
money
1976).
use
the
designated
home
It is often
said
money
obtained for
housing to pay obligations like sending children to
or
for
non-essential
items
like
for
than
other
purposes
(Peattie and Doeble,
potential
income.
school
entertaining guests or
parties.
4. At times, loans are not taken advantage
of
because
people
may fear that they may not be able to repay them within the
term
of the loan.
As mentioned above, housing for many is
not taken as a first priority
(Peattie and
Doeble,
1976).
-71-
system may be utilized to meet other
loan
the
Therefore,
existing needs rather
than for housing.
This raises the questions of how
how
and
determined,
the people will be provided with the raw
be
large
throughout
The limits that may be imposed on
based in policy formulation.
loan
may,
are
calculations
regions, at times varies from those on which
a
considerably
vary
costs
needed.
The required standards in different
country.
the
money
of
amount
the
labor
and
materials
Moreover,
in
differences
bound
There are
materials necessary for housing construction.
to
is
eligibility
housing
practice, become a considerable restriction,
in
given the complex situation existing in many informal areas.
of
Regarding Kazner's (1977) proposal
producing
housing
for the poor, the problems experienced in such a policy are:
1.
originally
intended.
Most
of
the
whom
for
Housing may never be allocated to those
was
it
housing might become
occupied or rented by the middle-class.
2.
involved
The government sometimes does not want to get
providing
housing
incomes often do
the
for
not
have
poor
the
in
because people with low
capital
afford
to
even
minimal standard housing.
3.
Housing is not considered a "capital good" and
not a good
investment.
Some economists maintain that
a waste of money to provide housing for
1980).
will
is therefore
its people
it is
(Renaud,
Instead, money should be allocated to machines that
generate
partake of.
a
multiplication
One house
will
be
of goods, which many can
good
for
only
the
one
-72-
family's
the needs of
needs, but a machine can accommodate
many people.
systems
for
question
the
housing,
raised as to what
can be
implemented.
alternative plan may be
of
Previous experiences suggest that the failure
housing
are typically not the result of failures
projects
improvement
provision
and
finance
the
in
Given the "deficiencies"
Rather,
in housing provisions or of a strong financial system.
in
the
of coordination between authorities and inhabitants.
Any
the fault lies in policy implementation,
lack
to
needs
into
take
the
for
improvement scheme designed
employment
and
Nations, 1971).
[in
social
and
essence,
relations]
(United
Such schemes should also be able to:
(i) Provide government
improve
structure
the
the inhabitants
structure,
areas
housing
informal
consideration
socio-economic characteristics of
income
specifically
to
support
communications
and
stimulate
self-help
and
cooperation with the leaders
and inhabitants of informal housing areas.
(ii)
Acknowledge the existence of
these people
strengthen
and
their sense of community.
It
is the
inhabitants who will determine if a program succeeds
or not, not the government's or economist's policies.
B. Centralization
To better understand
Administration,
planning
it
is
the
constraints
found
in
Kenya's
important first to give an overview of
and administration in Kenya.
-73-
An Overview of Planning and Administration in Kenya
Kenya's administrative plans developed from early attempts
and
possessions
(Hyden
overseas
the
first
At
powers introduced the United Kingdom's Colonial Paper
colonial
No.
its
176).
p.
1970,
al.,
et
coordinate
and
in
activities
budgetary
development
structure
to
administration
by the colonial
prepare
a
62-63).
However, this was little more than the elaboration
capital
expenditures.
1945,
when
an
1963,
in
Independence
a
formation
the
1948.
in
jurisdiction
its
under
established
and
Authority
of
budgets for recurrent and
start
Effective planning did not
British
the
Reconstruction
Committee
associated
and
plans
departmental
to
1958, pp.
(Nicoleson,
plan
development
ten-year
colonies
instructed
which
3 on development planning,
Development
of
a
and
Planning
By the time of
committee
associated
until
system
had
evolved.
In 1964, a Directorate of Planning was established in
Kenya's
Ministry
attempts
have
organization
individual
been
that
and
Since
Finance.
of
made
might
groups
in
to
build
link
the
the
an
that
time,
effective
central
countryside
however,
planning
government
by
means
with
of
specialized roles and structures, using a host of committees on
provincial and district levels
"this
structure
(Hyden, 1970, p.
177).
However,
has only been partially successful in shaping
the development activities in Kenya and in the rural areas;
impact has clearly been marginal"
fact,
rural
Frank
(Hyden, 1970,
p.
177).
its
In
Holmquist suggested that probably less than 5% of
development activities during that time
were
initiated,
-74-
shaped,
Holmquist,
(see
the formal planning structure
by
controlled
or
1970).
Kenya no doubt has inherited some of the basic features of
been
the British system of government, but they seemingly have
somewhat arbitrarily "from an earlier concern with
transmitted
gaining control and protecting the white settler minority, to a
terminal concern with welfare and
(Hyden, 1970, p. 6).
and political opportunity for Africans
This
other
policies
in
However,
Kenya's
Independence
in
Kenya,
1963.
in
nationalistic
as
had
system
their
because
response
by
some
Therefore,
Kenyans to the
the
British
on African political consciousness was not as strong
it might have been, yet the authoritarian character
British
gained
'Mau Mau' revolution, which was
alienation of their land by settlers.
influence
1960's.
the British had not
leaving,
Before
efforts had been impeded by the
a
the
to
Kenya
after
even
succeeded in installing a parliamentary
primarily
similar
prior
colonies
British
reflected
case was rather unique, for the colonialists
settle
decided to
method"
"authoritarian
British
economic,
social,
expanded
administration
impacted
on
the
African
running
of
the
country.
leaders who took over the
seemed to change in terms of administration.
of
the
political
Nothing
The authoritarian
government during the colonial
era
seemed evident in the social esteem and high status granted
to
and
is
character
officers
of
of
the
the
British
post-Independence
probably still reflected in Kenya today.
Administration
-75-
After British occupation, Kenya was faced with the problem
era
from
of
such
nature
The
thought.
political
African
current
colonial
the
of
of trying to segregate the legacy
political thought was reflected in the government's White Paper
and
creative state
(Hyden, 1970, p.
that
was
time
in the service of popular development goals
Those
The impression the government had at
the
government would be able to solve all the
in
unity and development, once
took
seemingly
power
support
ideological
given
to
advantage
norms
in Kenya that have always emphasized values of
(Hyden,
6).
Politicians also took advantage of
lacked
the
traditional
equality and voluntarism in social and political action
1970, p.
of
in
them by the Kenyan peoples and
automatically assumed a form of "statism," despite
cultural
the
6).
fundamental problems of national
office.
positive
the
on African Socialism, which extols the virtue of
a
hierarchical
authority
fact
the
system.
Kenya
that
Rather than having
activities carried out on a large voluntary and communal basis,
they were able to take
pertaining
to
control
the welfare of
of
the
principal
local communities
activities
(Hyden et al.,
1970).
Characteristics of the Civil Service
At the time of Independence, Kenya had
more
elaborate
administrative
British colonies in Africa.
about
one-third
larger
inherited
organization
than
a
most other
The size of the civil service
than
latter had a larger population
that
of Tanzania,
(Bienen,
1974,
p.
much
was
although the
30).
This
-76-
was under United Nations trusteeship
(Bienen, 1 974,
interest to Britain
was
part
in
a
p.
30).
(in essence, the
economic needs
to
response
for growth and
economy of Kenya was perceived to have potential
was,
in
fact,
growing).
cumulative
total
the
instance,
For
(GNP) expansion was at 6.8 % during the
National Product
Gross
immediate
less
of
and
size of the Civil Service after Independence
in
The growth
the fact that Tanzania
Mau uprising, and
Mau
the
population,
white-settler
a
to
services
of
provision
factors--the
reference to at least three
be explained with
can
discrepancy
The growth
32-33).
1964-66 period (Bienen, 1974, pp.
the
of
civil service may also be a re flection of government efforts to
effectively
cope
with,
guide,
and
the development process.
the
way
for
personal
needs .
Bienen commented that, "As the
and
were
personnel
business,
service
administration
only
was
to
of
partially
response
a
.
the civil service ".
service
growth of the
occurred, but
of
transformation of the economy.
was
an
itself"
civil
1974, p.
(Hyden,
service,
a
The
. must also be viewed as the
character
consequences of the autonomous goal-setting
civil
He
economic growth and growth potential, and to
the concern for structural
growth
33).
right in this observation, that the growth of Kenya's
probably
civil
to administer
required
licensing and loan programs" (Bienen, 1974, p.
Africanize
to
Kenyan Government implemented policies designed
trade
paved
also
change
Meanwhile, however, expansion and economic
great
9).
deal
it was accompanied by problems.
of
the
Because of the
of
speculation
For example:
-77-
proliferation of ministries and departments is not
The
reflect
often
may
but
matter
a
technical
solely
many
in
For
example,
considerations.
political
departments,
and
ministries
systems,
political
awarded to key supporters or
are
important positions
won
their
become
and
party
ruling
the
members of
turn, by their own
in
staffed,
be
'possessions' to
with
systems
political
rural
In
followers.
fragile basics of support there is
heterogeneous and
a relatively large
for
likely to be a strong need
number of ministries so that all supporting groups can
be properly rewarded.
(Hyden, 1974, p. 9)
today
The proliferation of governmental agencies in Kenya
is reflective of the administration's need to reward supporting
need
to
be
of
creation
the
obliged,
a
efficiency
of efficiency, consideration of administrative
very
reduced.
rural
that
demand
well
ministries
be
consolidated
One example in Kenya can be drawn from the
in
(Hyden,
productivity
farmers
assisting
field
field
may
or
of
1974,
As it turned out, such
12).
p.
organizations
agricultural
increase
to
cooperation could not be achieved, because the
separate
of
several ministries were expected to
where
development,
cooperate
the
number
large
in order to achieve a form
However,
required.
are
ministries
Because of the many favors that
1974, p. 10).
(Hyden,
groups
responsive
ministries
to
had
different
hierarchical authorities.
After viewing
the type of administration that
Kenya
has,
it is no wonder then that Kenya has failed to
implement most of
development plans.
Concentration of
its
housing
policy
and
political activity is at the federal
the federal government
administrative
is
operations
remotely
to
level, and this means that
involved
exercise
much
the
actual
control
of the
in
-78-
The Public Housing
find a second limitation on centralization.
and
that
so
responses,
details.
administrative
(SSHS),
do
they
agency's
an
of
The Site and Service Housing Schemes
good
a
are
level,
federal
inability to quickly and effectively
has
The federal government
respond to administrative details.
opted
simple
for
time
have
not
which are managed at the
example
problems requiring quick
and
pressures
various
demands,
with
overloaded
already
often
Sector agencies are
involved
but here again we
in administrative details at the local level,
crises,
administration.
program
constitute
of course, set out on a course of becoming
can,
They
that
decisions
detailed
the SSHS as the most pragmatic approach to low-cost
for
24),
housing problems (HRDU, 1979, p.
concentrated
in
or
Nairobi and Mombasa
around
major
(see Table 4.1),
because
and
urban
areas--particularly
of
most
is
SSHS
development
the
programs for these areas, such as public services, schools, and
so
are
on,
bound to result in an increase of people from the
rural areas into these urban areas.
biases
that
Apart
the
from
may occur, an extra burden is being placed on the
NHC and other local government authorities, because
have
accommodate
to
immigrants."
housing
provide
regional
the
housing
Consequently, the amount of
needs
money
of
they
will
these
"new
for
budgeted
in the five-year Development Plan will not be enough to
for
the
influx of rural
increased
inhabitants.
demand for housing created by the
Another way to look at
it
would
mean that even if administrative effectiveness were to exist
Kenya, the
in
initial project appropriations would only be able to
-79-
Table 4.1
Geographical Distribution of Houses
(Sites
and Services)
Completed during 1980
No. Units
, o.
Plac
%
Cost
i n In
,nits
%-
MUNICIPALITIES
Nairobi
600
36.91
1,373,000
43.65
Mombasa
208
12.81
722,100
22.96
Nakuru
120
7.39
143,420
4.56
Kakamega
273
16.82
250,000
7.94
Kericho
6
0.36
26,500
0.84
Eldoret
15
0.92
153,187
4.87
176
10.84
206,300
6.55
1.398
86.10
2,874,507
91.37
142
8.74
155,400
4.94
83
5.11
115,000
3.65
Machakos
TOTAL MUNICIPALITIES
TOWNS AND URBAN COUNCILS
Malindi
CITY COUNCILS
01 Kalou
TOTAL KENYA
1,623
100
3,144,907
National Housing Corporation, Annual Report, 1980.
Source:
Nairobi, Government Printer, 1980, p. 15.
100
-80-
construct a portion of the units originally planned for because
of
A
demands.
increased
the
"no-win" situation would exist
whereby housing policy implementation would seemingly never
Another interpretation might suggest
able to match the demand.
that
of the development administration
ability
the
"because
be
agencies to fully utilize annual development appropriations, is
often seen as an imperative for successful plan implementation"
1972,
(Chege,
6),
p.
housing
policy
would
implementation
For example,
inevitably become a failure.
periods injected
the
plan
over
has
The government
sector.
housing
into
the
funds
sizeable amounts of
is
argued in certain quarters that funds
it
Although
been
inadequate,
allocated to sites and services have
is not very convincing to attribute the ineffective
it
inflation
widespread
implementation of the schemes to
in view of the fact
loan
facilities,
inadequate
and
has
revenue
housing
that substantial portions of the
had to be returned to the Treasury because of inability
to utilize the money.
(HRDU, 1979, p.
on
information
and
central
between
historical
the
Kenya has been unable
policies,
housing
local agencies
to
accomplish
of
because
on
background
long
well
as
publications,
and
reports
Government
preparation
of
earlier plans because of
(HRDU,
has
been
slowness
pp.
1979,
in Kenya, have shown that
objectives
the
delays
new
72-75).
due
knowledge
of
its
(see Table 4.2).
in
the
to the redesigning of
or
donor
insistence
The implication of various delays
potential
benefits
are
implementing
projects
at
that
in
projects
as
relationships
These delays were found in foreign aid negotiations or
detailed
27)
not
the
captured.
The
local level also
-81-
Table 4.2
Services
Construction of Infrastructure
for Completed Schemes
Final Date
Construction
Planned
Actual
Construction
Period
Months
Months
Planned Actual
Final
Delay
in
Months
Dandora
12
2
7
12
18
16
12
5/78
13
13
12
6/77
6/77
N/A
15
0
10/76
3/79
4
23
29
Phase I
10/76
12/76
12
Nakura
Langa III
12/77
12/78
12.
Thika 10
10/77
10/78
Nanyuki III
5/77
Webuye
Kiambu
Source:
National Housing Corporation, Annual Report, 1980,
Nairobi, Government Printer, 1980, p.
15.
-82-
the
results in the difficulty of fulfilling
co-ordination between federal and local
misunderstood,
easily
political needs.
the
of
due to the lack of
Furthermore,
Plan.
Development
nation's
schedule
are
agencies, policies
or
misinterpreted,
to
changed
suit
For example,
instances where, contrary
the NHC has mentioned several
some in
to the official policy, Government officials,
senior positions have interfered with the work of the
corporation, by for example, allowing the construction
of a two-story high-cost housing on a serviced plot in
the Bungoma site and services project.
(HRDU, 1979, p. 26)
This is another
illustration that casts doubt
on
whether
any
or policy, however well understood, will be acceptable
program
or implementable, so long as there are political
interferences
and pressures prominent in the implementation process.
Conclusion
execution is perhaps as detrimental to
any
facet
other
politics affects the
choice
of
employees
no
political
of
selection
contractors
(see Stolper, 1966).
effective
activity.
of
a
suppliers,
and
during the course of
exercised
influence
political
The
site,
the
the selection of
In addition, because there
are
administrative checks and balances present in Kenya,
known
some agencies charged with project execution may be
the
as
Quite frequently,
development
and
planning
misuse
of
funds,
as
liable
was the case with the NHC.
implementation, in this regard, can
be
conceptualized
to
Policy
as
an
"ongoing process of decision-making by a variety of actors, the
ultimate
outcome
of which is determined by the content of the
-83-
the
decision
politico-administrative
context"
program being pursued and by the
makers
within
given
a
(Grindle, 1976, p.
interaction
of
12).
Merilee Grindle has commented that in a
development
plan
or policy,
there are
particular
achieving
allocation
certain to be interest groups that will have
interests in the plan, and their method of
demands on
interests is by making
their
Frequently, however, the goals
procedures.
are
in direct conflict with each other and the outcome
is
what
gets
who
consequently
of this conflict and
determined
by
the
strategies,
resources
and
power
positions of each of the actors involved.
(Grindle, 1976, p. 12)
Anderson, a political economist who did
of
the
Latin
similar
analysis
American political system came to the following
conclusion:
Programs that are implemented may be the
political
result
scarce resources,
officials and the
institutional contexts.
(Anderson, 1972, p.
In view of this conclusion by Anderson,
same
a
implementing
of
response
the
actions of political elites, all
interacting within given
this
of
caucus of interests and groups competing for
it
is
171)
probable
that
conclusion for policy implementation can be applied
to the Kenyan context, for an analysis of the implementation of
specific programs could very well be
"power
capabilities"
of
the
equivalent
actors, their
to
assessing
interests and the
-84-
strategies for achieving them, as well as
This,
in which they interact.
of the administration or society
in
characteristics
the
may facilitate assessing the potential for achieving
turn,
implementors
To be effective, then,
policy and program goals.
should be skilled in political strategies and should understand
the "environment" in which they seek to realize public policies
and programs.
C.
Resource
purposes, land will be
resources for the author's
numerous
are
there
Although
examined.
resource
only
the
Before
discussing land constraints, let us first describe Kenya's land
policy.
of
concepts
Satterthwaite, 1981,
p.
(Hardoy
ownership
state
and
private
tribal and western
the
under
held
is
Kenya
in
Land
and
These concepts can be classified
172).
into three broad categories of rights or types of title, namely
(1)
rights,
customary
(2)
land, and
freehold
(3) leasehold
land.
of
Most
people.
tribal
community
laws.
Most
Customary
rights
are
of
land
the
this
allocated
is
land
private
increase
production
freehold
incomes
of
land.
through
cash
crops.
held
is
in
rural
Private
supporting
Basically,
community
by
the
shared by
and
to tribal groups
change the traditional tenure patterns of
into
enjoyed
is
The land held under customary rights
areas.
in order to
ownership
freehold land aims to
individual
there
farmers'
are two major
-85-
rural and urban land policies
in Kenya's
components
held
by
Europeans,
titles
to
individuals
formerly
land
of
granting
settlement
first is the
The
173).
Satterthwaite, 1981, p.
(Hardoy and
of
second is the
while
the
and
groups
land
for
previously held under customary tenure.
land is usually land belonging to an individual.
Freehold
still
is
The individual has the title rights for the land but
bound by statutory restrictions on the use of land.
Leasehold
The term
land held for a fixed term.
is
land
This
usually ranges from 50 to 99 years for agricultural land.
land is
(COL) or from the
leased from the Commissioner of Lands
local authority.
In 1971, more than two-thirds of Kenya's land was held
(Hardoy
trust
1981,
Satterthwaite,
and
p.
but
much
included
this
developed urban locations.
its
and
land
the
of
richest
The existence of
all
has
Kenya
taken
domain
if
have
it
Satterthwa.ite,
farmland
and best
private
freehold
is
development
successful
place on private land despite the public
authorities owning most of the
authorities
land,
successful development has created problems for
Kenyan authorities because most of the
in
Private
172).
freehold land represented only a tiny proportion of
in
urban
land.
However,
public
the right to acquire private land by eminent
in
1981,
the
p.
"public
172).
interest"
(Hardoy
and
This presents the monopoly of
successful land utilization by the elite.
Control of urban land-use is exercised by
central
governments in Kenya by zoning clauses
the
local
and
in leases which
-86-
regulate
size,
plot
use,
land
development.
of
types
and
Building codes are also utilized as a means to exert government
Urban
control.
by the physical
designed
plans
development
planning department include zoning and estimates of future land
to
requirements
project
shelter
low-income
public
build
demonstrates
The
policy.
acquisition
the
steps required
(HRDU, 1979, pp. 27-29):
-
supporting
and
the assessment of the need for urban shelter
services;
-
the estimation of land requirements;
- the identification of suitable sites,
on
preferably
public
land;
- the assembling of land and, if necessary, the acquisition
land through
-
of
eminent domain;
the preparation of plans and the approval
for
services
the
and for subdivision;
-
the installation of services;
- the allocation of plots; and finally,
-
the
supervision
of
development
of
plots
individual
as
stipulated in letters of lease or offer.
Experience,
however,
suggests
that
these
are rarely
steps
implemented because they are time-consuming.
Land
figures prominently as a constraint to policy
implementation in Kenya.
Numerous public control methods have
been implemented by the government in an attempt
inequalities
that
exist
in
land distribution.
to
The
"correct"
issue of
-87-
land
its poor,
If the government wanted to build houses for
policy.
urban
in
especially
becomes the most important
land
areas,
housing
successful
for
important factor
is obviously an
commodity necessary to implement construction plans.
In Kenya,
however, the problem is not so much one of
land
se;
inadequate
is the problem of delivering the land to target groups
it
for which the
is
housing
1981, p.
Satterthwaite,
of
construction
(especially
shelter
use
the
"self-help"
Although land is usually a
small part of the total cost of shelter, the price of
may
use, and
(c)
(a) inflation,
the
(see
the value of land, making it unaffordable
influence
for the poor, are
in
factors
In addition, other
Bruch-Biggs, 1979; Frieden, 1975).
that
land
incomes
sometimes rises more rapidly than do
areas
urban
in the problem of delivering much
needed land to the targeted groups.
urban
the
in
The skyrocketing cost of
approach form of development).
is an additional factor
for
and
the time, these
The majority of
173).
(Hardoy
benefit
to
intended
target groups are the poor who need this land for
land
per
demand
for
(b) decisions that change land
preference
for
single-family
houses.
Given
the
high
cost
associated
unusual to find urban land becoming
commodity,
virtually
risk-free,
a
with
with
land,
speculative
it
is not
investment
a high rate of return.
Furthermore, problems arise when consideration is given to
generally
owns
this is owned by
1974, pp. 66-73).
the "decent" land.
the
powerful,
who
According to Leys, usually
rich
decision-makers
(Leys,
Most of the land is used by these people for
-88-
speculative
purposes
(Hardoy and Satterthwaite, 1981, p.
further contributing to the increase in urban land prices,
interfering
with
the
Obviously, it would be
these
deficiencies
effective.
economic
in
and
the
thus
laws
of
nation's
to
make
supply
interest
land
172);
and
and demand.
to
address
policies
more
-89-
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION
Review of
the Purpose and Objectives
This study has analyzed the BNA in terms of two levels
action: goal formulation, and policy
factor,
one
whether
to
as
primarily
was
analysis
with determining how basic needs and objectives have
concerned
to
been formulated in Kenya, and
between
consistency
development
raise
together
bring
some
questions
about
the
plans goals on the one hand,
and plan implementation on the other.
us
than any other, was
more
This
responsible for this inability.
question
a
plans,
and
policies
to achieve targets in their
arose
With many
implementation.
for the inability of the Kenyan government
accounting
factors
of
conclusions
With these remarks,
let
of the findings of this
study.
According to
the
reasons
this analysis of the Kenyan
housing
sector,
the unsatisfactory performance of the sector
for
can be summarized under three headings:
(A) Long delays
Plan
into
in the translation of the National
housing
policy
guidelines
and
Development
a development
program
(B) The lack of clear objectives for housing projects, and
(C) Problems of land acquisition and allocation.
The translation of development plan policies into programs
in Kenya was perhaps as detrimental to the performance
housing
sector
as
any
of
of
the
the previously mentioned factors.
-90-
inability
the
of
structure
Because of the
in
an
the central government) to communicate policies
(by
This
authorities.
local
the
effectively and efficiently to
resulted
was
there
government,
a "constant interplay of short term responses and
administrative
adjustments to social and
planning
pressures,
arbitrary determined financial constraints, technological
with
in administrative
imperatives, and changes
1978,
p.
Even
273).
building codes, etc.)
upgrading
(Stern,
(standards,
regulatory policies
those
that were supposed to aid the poor in the
of
development
and
personnel"
instance, seemed ineffective and
urban
areas,
informal
for
In addition, the
inoperative.
lack of technical skills and the interference of politicians in
the
planning process were said either to have raised the costs
of materials or to have reduced the accessibility of regulatory
mechanisms
poor
to the poor;
performance
of
the
to
perhaps contributing
already
the housing sector, and at the same time
creating an almost hopeless situation.
In summary,
low-cost
insufficient
in a situation of grossly
construction, the official policy dilemma is classic:
too much regulation will discourage private building or
little
too
but
law,
lead builders to circumvent the
threaten
and
exploitation
permit
will
regulation
overall planning and public health requirements.
(Stern, 1978, p. 278)
Efforts to implement
housing
hindered by the skyrocketing costs of
urban areas).
in
urban
furthermore
programs
land
were
(especially close to
With urban population growth, the prices of land
areas
rose
more
rapidly
than
did
addition, although the constitution guarantees
incomes.
the
In
protection
-91-
of
or problem has arisen, and not
need
a
after
until
As
anticipation of urban requirements.
as
unavailability of land
land"
bush
"dry
grassland" which can only
is
another
and
is "dwarf-shrub
fifth
nomadic
sustain
officially
pastoralists.
In
were 4.2 acres of potentially productive land per
there
shrunk
by the year 2000 the figure will have
person;
According to
for housing construction.)
Conversely, half of Kenya
is good arable land.
1945,
the
of
problem
"Less than a fifth of the country's land surface
Shaw,
termed
the
include
not
does
(This
land plans are
long-term
of
implementation
the
concerned.
Robert
are
obstacles
urgent considerations may later turn into
as
far
only
not
such,
in
likely to be higher-priced, but actions based on
compensations
actual and
normally
not
is
action
area),
eminent domain of the needed
taken
through the expropriation by
(expressed
property
private
to
1.2
acres per person" (Shaw, 1983, p. 23).
Recommendations
Having summarized the findings, the question remains as to
can
anything
whether
be
done
rectify
to
Kenya's
housing
will
largely
situation.
The solution to
housing
Kenya's
problems
on the motives of the government and
depend
its affiliates
essence, are government officials really serious about
housing
their
housing
problem?).
policy
Development
Plan
stipulated
as
p.
172):
objectives
in
Kenya's
or
goals
Fourth
solving
of the
National
would probably need to involve the following
processes in order to
1979,
The
(in
realize
Kenya's
housing
goals
(Kenya,
-921. growth of the public sector to the point of
the
dominating
private sector;
services
2. extensive development of infrastructure and public
to cater to sites and services projects;
3. technical descriptions of
be
level)
of
and
achieved;
4.
to
are
objectives
the
how
the consultation and involvement
the
(at
local
people in house construction.
for this kind of planning to be
that
is
impression
The
achieved, certain basic political and administrative conditions
These
must be'met.
three
under
grouped
be
can
conditions
headings:
1. The
solidarity
such
having
from
trust
that
sections, preventing
plans
needs
community
political
impact
the inequality
impact
the
between
exists
of
sense
a
possess
to
in
its
of
various
development
existing
intensifying
cleavages.
2. A basic affinity must exist between people
such
that
the
government
sacrifices by engaging
can
ask
its
and
government,
citizens to make
in housing construction, and citizens
will do so without excessively reckoning the cost.
3. A country must possess a large skilled and committed
service
that
strives
to
serve
the
public
population, and that
possesses a vivid sense of urgency for economic growth.
Given the knowledge about Kenya's governmental
it
is
doubtful
that
Kenya
fulfills
any
structure,
of the conditions
-93-
people in squatter settlements),
from
"patriotism"
discussed
(except for the
expect
could
one
that
(as
Furthermore
people to government.
its
in the analysis),
possess
the government does not
a
As Wolfgang Stolper very wisely
administration.
well-equipped
such
be
cannot
really
Kenya
"tight-knit" political community
a
considered
thing,
one
For
above.
described
(in his description of governments in Africa):
said
several
under
operate
There is first the recalcitrant nature of
is secondly the fact that we deal
There
economy.
the
must
Governments
[most]
limitations.
of
and thirdly, the lack
with plural societies,
of
capable
people
trained
well
sufficient numbers of
running things.
(Stolper, 1966, p. 14)
do
not have a sense of political community.
peoples
Kenyan
We do not want to give the impression that the
Kenya, after all,
does possess a decent administration when compared to those
There is no doubt that the people
developing countries.
other
are willing to be governed.
housing
policy
objectives
However,
cannot
political will is there, and the
efficient.
effective and
planners
engaging
need
to
set
it
can
be
their
carried out unless the
be
administration
goals
that
that
argued
more
becomes
Thus, the government of Kenya
plans
grandiose
in
of
and its
accordingly, rather than
have
no
means
of
being
implemented within the required time period.
However,
assuming
the
government was truly committed to
solving Kenya's housing problem, as they have stated, it should
simply be a matter of time for Kenya's housing
overcome.
However,
Kenya's
problem
to
be
Fourth National Development Plan
-94-
essence,
the
There are two reasons
why
(in
objectives
clear
of
lack
the
being
formalization or methodology used).
them
of
one
problems,
implementation
identifiable
has some
a more effective housing policy is needed:
they
plan,
development
incorporated
are
policies
1. Once housing
in
used
are
national
a
into
interested
informing
parties as to the expected demand and claims public
housing
programs will make on the housing agencies, scarce materials
skilled
and
construction
the
This
industry.
qeet-necks
unnecessary
that
the risk
minimizes
of
labor
will
develop
(United Nations, 1976, p. 14).
kind
2. A well-defined policy provides guidelines so that some
effective
of
and
(Cook
1982, p.
Kuhn,
machinery
follow-up
implementation, and
preparation, planning,
recognition,
project
can
be
enacted
Otherwise, policies become
98).
subjected to reinterpretations by implementers,
politicians
and beneficiaries for their own gain.
recommendations
Utilizing
should
countries,
developing
(1976) to
be
able
by
made
a
the
national
United
housing
The approximate known time
respectively.
which projects
incidence
housing,
specified,
of
the
are
these
role
policy
estimate the number, type and standard of
to
dwellings to be constructed by both the public and the
sectors
Nations
to
be
completed,
activities
of
financial
and
the
need to be known.
institutions
private
framework in
geographical
For public
should
be
with capital requirements and subsidies identified.
-95-
also
identified.
be
labor
and
equipment
Income levels and type of families to be
should be explained.
The ancillary infra-structure,
services, and community facilities
cost
estimated
and
Finally, the
certain
financing
and/or
executing
their
including
required,
timing, should be assessed.
agencies responsible for
made
are
they
which
should be calculated, and the manner in
available
these targets
attaining
for
necessary
material,
land,
of
amount
The
explicit.
served should be
should
incentives
For the private sector, the type and size of
components of the proposed programs should be known.
It
was
noted earlier that
it is
government to lower its targets so as
to
that the government seek the cooperation
and
convey
the
of
most active in the housing sector,
firms
realistic
a
Yet it remains imperative
to planning possibilities.
approach
important for the Kenyan
institutions
and if possible,
sector
set up a separate commission that "oversees" the public
housing agencies.
that
of
Grepey
(1976) suggests that governments like
Kenya need to experiment first with simulation models
as an aid to preparing housing
plans
in
which
the
expected
growth patterns of cities, migratory movements and other
variables are forecasted.
consequences
of
a
"These are helpful for analysing the
proposed housing policy versus alternative
policies in terms of the demand and supply
building activities and land use patterns"
It
was also pointed out
in
Kenya.
As
characteristics
of
(Grepey, 1976).
in this analysis that the problem
of centralization was found in the
policies
useful
implementation
of
housing
mentioned earlier, centralization is
-96-
They both
somewhat similar to the constraint of formalization.
difference between centralization and
formalization is that the
alone is responsible for stipulating clear
government
federal
primary
The
planning.
policy
careful
involve the need for
in plans and policies in formalization, whereas
objectives
the national level and those at the
at
functions
administrative
the
between
communication
in
difficulties
creating
for
responsible
be
could
factor
'external'
any
regional and
local levels in centralization.
always
worst problems in housing arise
authorities
provision of houses
(Ghai,
manner
p.
1979,
implementing
the
admit
frankly
for
There
33).
have
long
been
is structured.
The
which
the
policy
government's
housing
programs
(and
administration
process
in
be better administered at the
can
consequently
The
're-structuring'
in
the
deconcentration
of
policies) will relieve key housing officials
detailed
tasks related to purely local
from
issues.
repetitious
The speed
and effectiveness in dealing with housing programs will
be
form
increased
of
in
the
national, regional, and local levels.
and
delays
these policies and some of the blame rests on
obvious solution, therefore, is in finding ways
national
groups"
income
lower
the
cater to the
to
inability
their
services
and
where
in the Kenyan towns
not
"The
they were intended.
manner
the
in
implemented
are
policies
This analysis emphasized the fact that
at
all levels.
As a general rule, however, any
decentralization
responsibilities)
need
to
likely
apply
(in
essence,
functional
to the lowest "grass roots"
-97-
areas
a
(United Nations,
and
means
77).
1976, p.
Premature
end.
an
not
Decentralization thus
is
excessive
or
decentralization might be harmful and may lead in some cases to
abuses
widespread
control
systems
when
exist
inadequate
Nations,
(United
auditing
and
accounting
77).
1976, p.
matter of fact, who or what should be subject to suspicion
the
politicians
and
others
who
have
interests
vested
As a
are
in
For example,
housing.
senior
To a large extent, politicians, councellors and
are aware of the low-cost
often
officials
government
housing policy, but do not
fully
support
it
in
its
when there are vested interests.
especially
entirety,
through
One point in case, is that housing units built
groups
lower-income
the
and intended for
funds
public
groups.
higher-income
the
to
have been mis-allocated
the housing policy and the National Housing Corporation
guidelines
on
site and services programme has clearly
specified that target income groups as
those
families
within the income range of K.Shs.300/- to K.Shs.l.200/per
month
(KL15 to KL60 p.m.).
and discussions with various
The HRDU field survey
technical
officers
have
that often political pressures and interferences
shown
in the allocation procedure have resulted in the misuse
lower-income
the
of public resources meant to benefit
groups.
(HRDU, 1979, p. 24)
Similarly,
periods injected
plan
the
over
government has
The
housing
the
into
funds
of
amounts
sizeable
not very convincing to attribute
is
it
sector. . . .
to
schemes
the
implementation of
ineffective
the
widespread inflation and inadequate loan facilities, in
a substantial portion of the
that
fact
the
view of
Treasury
housing revenue has had to be returned to the
spite of
In
money.
because of inability to utilize the
it
funds,
of
scarcity
general
and
biting inflation
the
would appear, housing policies have not been adequately
organizational
of
because
largely
implemented
seems to characterize the National
which
inefficiency
-98-
Housing Corporation and the local authorities, and also
manoeuvres.
due to political
27)
(HRDU, 1979, p.
proposal,
Thus to be successful with a 'decentralization'
needs to devise a system that specifies the nature,
government
administration, and
programs,
of
success
the
to
"Essential
matters.
financial
all
regarding
accountability,
and
responsibility
delegated
of
limits
and
extent,
the
decentralization is the drawing of lines of demarcation between
issues and day-to-day administrative tasks, the
policy
larger
former being referred to
1979,
Nations,
p.
decision"
for
headquarters
(United
78).
In conclusion, it is also the belief of the author that no
(no
policy
matter
how
well documented) can be acceptable so
long as there are political interferences and pressures in
the
implementation of the policy and programs.
given
be
should
authorities
public
Furthermore,
pre-emption rights to acquire land in special development zones
as a
to
resolution
housing.
'Preemption'
is
right
the
institutions enabling them to have
land.
In
the
land
of
problems
the
first
case where a landowner is
his land, the government needs to have the
planned
area.
Such
problem of higher prices
compensation.
a
policy
being
paid
would
by
and
government
to
given
in
priority
buying
interested in selling
right
the land at defined prices existing before the
a
acquisition
to
purchase
zone is declared
resolve the current
the
government
for
-99-
be based on
would
therefore,
payments,
Compensation
account
into
take
to
adjusted
that estimated value
and
land
the
on
improvements
capital
subsequent
factor
cost-of-living
monetary corrections based on a
or some similar national indicator of growth and
index
inflationary pressures.
(United Nations, 1976, p.
the
If used properly, a land policy that combines
freezing
the
and
pre-emption
of
of
land
values,
41)
rights
is
"effective way of removing speculation for the land market
an
and
maintaining pre-development land price levels in areas for sale
contiguous to publicly purchased land
However,
41).
(United Nations, 1976, p.
to the United Nations
according
(1976) report
(which initially promoted this idea),
be
The rights of pre-emption, however, should not
an
since
acquisition,
land
for
relied on exclusively
acquiring
on
solely
based
be
cannot
acquisition policy
land
that
is
for
sale.
It
be combined with
must
necessary, and
policies for expropriating land, where
for creating land "banks" or reserves for future needs.
(United Nations, 1976, p.
In
terms
of the implementation of land policies for land
allocation, the role of the national government
of
fashioning land policies and, through
authority
their
for
working
implementation
this
41)
proposal
a
"should be that
national
land-use
in concert with local governments, ensuring
(United Nations, 1976, p.
can
48).
(Details
be found in the United Nations report
-100-
(1979, pp. 3-10).)
Service housing schemes
As noted
implementation.
it
housing
development
Kenya's
housing
developed
policy, there are a variety of programs that are
and program would also imply that policy implementation
policy
is a
on its outcome.
therefore
and
implementation
program
of
function
dependent
Consequently, the
involves
investigation and an analysis of programs that are designed
goals.
as a means of achieving broader policy
stated,
it
doubtful
is
if
As
previously
clear distinctions between
such
by
impeded
greatly
the
need
to
task
Our
policy and programs are ever maintained in reality.
was
is
research or study
implementation almost automatically
of the process of
an
between
distinction
This
environment.
change in the policy
in
cause
Programs, on the other hand,
policy goals.
to
response
of
implementation
actual
and
program
often difficult to accomplish, because in a
is
This
policy
important to understand the difference between
is
policy,
policy.
of
in the analysis
an
in
uncertainty
with
deal
to
plan
effective
for
need
a
and
policy
and
distinction between program
need for a
a
is
there
that
are
Observations
final
Some
and
Site
of
evaluation
the
on
report
(1976) and the HRDU
take into account the
variety of levels at which the term "policy" was often used
development
In
plans.
policies are regulatory
individual
action
are developmental
housing
using
the area of housing
(in essence,
they
in
for example, some
attempt
to
control
in the private sector) while other policies
(in
public
essence,
resources
they
attempt
to
(Stern, 1978, p.
create
5).
new
It was
-101-
signal the overall failure of the general policy.
development),
this
surprisingly,
is an assumption that has typically worked
(See
countries.
developing
in practice in
Not
achieved.
be
will
goals
policy
the
that
policy
the
in accordance with the aims of the
are
program
the
of
because
that
The program's success does necessarily mean
aims
the
housing
Informal
Urban
essence,
(in
failure
program's
did
instance,
for
also necessary to know at what point,
Benveniste,
G.
Economists such as Merilee Grindle have
1970,E. Lozano, 1975).
even tried to resolve the problem of assessing the failure of a
versus
policy
viewing
by
program
a
of
failure
the
implementation as a general administrative process that can
a
at
analyzed
be
Success of a program,
specific problem level.
she states, would be evaluated by asking the question, "Did the
program actually do what it
evaluation
program
general
of
involve three things:
(1)
goals
and
The
objectives,
(3) allocating funds for the
programs, and
Grindle
process
(Grindle, 1976).
implementation would therefore
specifying
Consequently,
do?"
would be based on a measurement of program
outcomes versus policy goals
policy
to
out
set
(2)
pursuit
designing
of
goals.
able to differentiate policy failure from program
was
failure in her discussion of implementation as a political
administrative process
Any
discussion
important because the
implementation
directions.
and
(Grindle, 1976).
of
policy
expected
is considered
implementation
feedback
from
procedures
of
could lead to modifications in policy goals and
In essence, the rules and
guidelines
interpreted
-102-
or
lead to a considerable number of new
could
re-interpreted
implementation might mean
process of
the
in
revisions
these
importantly,
More
policies being made at sites of execution.
that final decisions devised at the design or formulation stage
For
proceeds.
a
example,
process
implementation
the
how
on
impact
an
have
might
decision
million
allocate five million dollars rather than five hundred
to
of Urban Informal housing areas will have
development
the
to
government
the
by
considerable impact on the subsequent implementation plans.
create
least
at
or
outcome
the
strategy
needs
mean
would
This
made.
that
a
the
identify
exact causal
the
appropriate
Kenya)
by
adopted
relationship between the
From
policy and the consequences of its implementation.
maybe
accurately
development plans policy or
(such as the "self-help" approach
to
in which the
fairly
be
probability of a successful outcome can
about
certainty
situation
a
this,
operational activities can be deduced.
In addition, the development strategy or policy might take
consideration, or attempt to hold
exogenous
variables.
constant,
behavior
the
unpredictable
environmental
change
by
3).
implemented
In
Kenya,
many
development
from
(Chege, 1972,
projects
with many uncertainties surrounding
of
to adapt
deviating
programmed procedures or even by goal alteration"
p.
into
conditions are
The argument is that "if
otherwise, then the operating agency will be compelled
to
a
or policy is that
of
they might at least achieve a rare degree
about
made
assumption
strategy
development
programmed
perfectly
initial
the
that
It follows
their
have
been
outcome,
-103-
and
as
the
earlier,
reported
failure
of many programs and
or
policies to succeed are attributed to these "uncertainties"
intervening of environmental variables
to the
surrounding
Uncertainties
the
developmental policy outcomes are seldom
result,
governments
can
(Kenya, 1979).
of
probabilities
analyzed,
and
as
a
often use uncertainties as an excuse
for not performing well.
It will be interesting to see how the government of
will
perform
in
the
years
to
policies will continue to be blamed
surrounding
outcome,
however, is that
to be made.
maybe
not.
come.
on
Kenya
Maybe the failures of
these
"uncertainties"
One thing that is certain,
improvements in the housing sector
will
have
-104-
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policies," in H.S. Murison and
J.P.
Lea
(eds.),
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in
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Countries:
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on
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-112-
APPENDIX
Currency Equivalents
Currency Units
Kenya Shillings (KSh)
KSh
1.00
US$ 0.0095*
US$
1.00
KSh 10.5
*The dollar-shilling conversion factor given here is based on the
approximate exchange rate in effect in mid-1982.