Pope decries the "injustice of urban exclusion"

Residents of Kangemi in Nairobi welcome Pope Francis on his tour in Africa on November 27, 2015. AFP PHOTO 

By SANDRA CHAO-BLASTO

In Summary

• In the last year however there has been progress from both government through the National Youth Service and Non-Governmental Organizations to improve access to basic facilities in slum dwellings.
• Speaking when he paid a courtesy call in Kangemi this morning the Pontiff said that “faceless private developers contribute to the unfair distribution of land” leading to urban exclusion.
• Nairobi has over the years seen an increase in slum dwellings with Kibera believed to be one of the largest slums in Africa.
• “These are wounds inflicted by minorities who cling to power and wealth, who selfishly squander while a growing majority is forced to flee to abandoned filthy and run-down properties,” he said.

Pope Francis has called for the integration of urban cities to accommodate people of all walks of life.

“The social and environmental debt owed to the poor of cities can be paid by respecting their sacred
right to land, lodging and labour. This is not a question of philanthropy rather it is a duty incumbent of all of us,” he said.

Nairobi has over the years seen an increase in slum dwellings with Kibera believed to be one of the largest slums in Africa.

It is estimated that more than half of the urban dwellers across the country live in informal settlements depicting a dire situation especially in housing.

Speaking when he paid a courtesy call in Kangemi this morning the Pontiff said that “faceless private developers contribute to the unfair distribution of land” leading to urban exclusion.

“These are wounds inflicted by minorities who cling to power and wealth, who selfishly squander while a growing majority is forced to flee to abandoned filthy and run-down properties,” he said.

The Pope lamented that due the hoarding of land, families were being forced to pay excessive and unfair rents for utterly unfit housing in informal settlements.
Most of the lower income class within the capital for instance can only afford to live in informal settlement where rent goes for not more than Sh7,500.

Many of these informal settlements, he said, lacked access to basic services and infrastructures.

Criminal organisations

“To deny a family water under any bureaucratic pretext whatsoever is a great injustice especially when one profits from this need,” he said.

Residents of informal settlement are further exposed to the dangers of criminal gangs and are most affected when “violence serving economic or political interests spreads.”

In the last year however there has been progress from both government through the National Youth Service and Non-Governmental Organizations to improve access to basic facilities in slum dwellings.

Kenya Power for instance increased connections from 5,000 households to over 150,000, in just one year by adopting a community-based approach.

Pope Francis noted that those living in informal areas have created bonds of belonging and togetherness which made living in the overcrowded areas an experience of community.

“The wisdom found in poor neighbourhoods which is expressed in values like solidarity, sacrifice, finding a place for the sick in one’s home, sharing bread with the hungry and showing strength during adversity can offer something to the times we live in. These values are grounded in the fact that each human being is more important than the god of money,” he said