Housing Ministry Seeks Value-for-Money Review of Ksh21 Billion KISIP2 Project

The government is set to conduct an independent assessment of a multibillion-shilling project aimed at improving living conditions in Kenya's informal settlements.

The State Department for Housing and Urban Development announced on Tuesday, August 18, that it is looking for an independent consultant to evaluate the Second Kenya Informal Settlements Improvement Project (KISIP2).

The project is funded by the World Bank and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), with the government now seeking to establish whether the programme delivered value for money and achieved its intended objectives.

According to a government procurement notice, the evaluation will examine the project's overall performance, its impact on beneficiaries and whether it strengthened the government's ability to upgrade informal settlements.

The assessment will also cover interventions financed by both the World Bank and AFD, including a review of the benefits received by communities targeted by the programme.

The review comes as KISIP2 nears the end of its implementation period.

The World Bank approved the project in 2020 through a $150 million International Development Association credit, equivalent to about Ksh19.4 billion at current exchange rates. 

The Kenyan government was also expected to contribute $15 million, approximately Ksh1.9 billion, as counterpart funding.

AFD later added €45 million, worth about Ksh6.9 billion, to the project through co-financing.

KISIP2 was designed to improve access to basic services and strengthen tenure security in selected informal settlements. 

It also sought to improve the government's institutional capacity to plan and implement settlement upgrading programmes.

The project followed the first Kenya Informal Settlements Improvement Project (KISIP1), which began in 2011 and covered 15 urban centres in 14 counties.

KISIP1 focused on improving infrastructure, securing land tenure, strengthening institutions and supporting urban planning.

The first phase recorded improvements in areas such as roads, drainage systems, water and sanitation facilities, and security lighting.

According to a World Bank assessment, KISIP1 had a positive impact on the lives of approximately 1.39 million people living in informal settlements.

The programme also helped regularise land tenure in 80 settlements and supported infrastructure projects in 36 informal settlements spread across 11 urban centres.