Kireka slum to be upgraded into estate

By Wilfred Sanya and David Sempijja

KAMPALA - National Housing and Construction Corporation (NHCC) is to construct 3,000 units at Kireka slum in Wakiso district, in a move to upgrade slums around Kampala city.

The chairperson of National Housing, Ambassador Agnes Kalibbala, said the Government acquired 320 acres of land in Kireka and sold off 49 acres to the Police.

“The Government will provide infrastructure like roads, water and electricity to help the developer to move faster, in addition to luring private investors to participate in the project,” said Kalibbala.

She made the disclosure during a meeting attended by members of the community and the political leaders. It was organised by the lands ministry, in conjunction with National Housing.

Kalibbala noted that they had earmarked sh5b for the project, pending discussions to agree on the suitable designs of the units.

Kireka slum is occupied by about 40,000 families, in addition to a Police Special Investigations Unit and barracks.

“The houses will be built and sold to the people on a mortgage scheme,ranging from 15% to 20%. This will be the first project in which residents are involved during the construction,” Kalibbala added.

She disclosed that the first set of houses to be built will be for the low-income earners. The estate will also have a school, health centre, recreation centre and a shopping area.

The project is being supported by Slum Developers International in addition to other NGOs.

Lands minister Daudi Migereko said the move was one of the Government’s plans to improve people’s standards of living by curbing the high housing shortage in the country, which stands at over 1.6 million housing units.