L.Victoria Rept - UN-Habitat

• Most powers pertaining to land ownership, land use, control, land acquisition, land allocationand provisions for major land development schemes are with the Central Government. Issuessuch as settlement expansion, slum upgrading and landfill relocation and development thattouch on land and space take much time to implement.• High and increasing demand for shelter against a background of poor urban planning,diminishing resources, high rents, poor water and sewerage infrastructure and insecureland tenure.• A major challenge in governance is lack of awareness of citizen responsibility at the grassrootslevel. The majority of the residents tend to be more concerned with elections; theypresume that development is the responsibility of government and the council. There is aneed to open up council meetings so that the public can appreciate the dynamics of cityplanning and management.• The increase of infectious diseases has directly influenced the poor health status of thepeople of Kisumu. HIV/AIDS prevention and control remains a serious social challenge inKisumu. The inadequate and disproportional distribution of health professionals and facilities,especially in the peri-urban and rural areas, has compounded the problem of access andaffordability of health services by the population.• The water situation presents unique challenges and opportunities. The current water supplyand sewerage system was constructed in the early 1930s to serve a population of lessthan 10,000 people. Today, it attempts to serve over 300,000 consumers. The currentinadequacy of the system results in the discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluentinto the lake, contributing to ecosystem damage and incidence of water-related diseases.The system now requires updating and expansion to cater for the expanded and expandingdemand base.• Kisumu’s rapid population growth and resulting solid waste generation has overwhelmedthe Municipal Council’s traditional management methods and collection and disposalcapacity. The council can no longer cope with collection and disposal of solid waste withinthe old town area alone. The waste generated in the peri-urban areas where the majority ofpeople live stays uncollected in backyards, paths and even compounds.44Cities Development Strategies for Improved Urban Environment and Poverty Reduction in the Lake Victoria Region