President Uhuru Kenyatta gets Sh16.2 Billion loan from World Bank for informal settlements

President Uhuru Kenyatta on virtual meeting at Statehouse. PSCU

 

The World Bank approves Ksh16.2 billion loan to Kenya. State Department for Housing and Urban Development released a statement on 12th August saying the funds will be used for urban informal settlements upgrading.


This came as a major boost for President Uhuru Kenyatta's Housing Projects under the Big 4 Agenda.


"We are very delighted to receive this support from the World Bank that will go a long way in enabling us to improve informal settlements in our urban spaces and in so doing, spur social and economic development and bring those populations into the mainstream economy," Treasury CS Ukur Yatani stated.

 

"The Project will enhance their quality of life by providing basic services that will ensure that households have access to sanitation and safe water which will, in turn, reduce communicable diseases, " he said.


"We will provide roads and footpaths that will improve mobility and access to those settlements as well as high mast lighting that will enhance security," he explained.


The Loans comes after a few months where the World Bank approved several loans to Kenya including the largest figure ever (Ksh106.8B) which was approved on May 20.


The huge sum was tagged as necessary to address the Pandemic distress to companies and support Kenya’s economy.


A day later, the World Bank Board of Directors approved a Ksh4.3 billion credit for Kenya as part of a larger regional Emergency Locust Response Project to respond to the threat posed by the desert locust outbreak.


On April 2, it approved Ksh5 billion emergency funding to support Kenya’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.