A section of Nakuru's Flamingo Estate, one of the estates owned by the Nakuru county government. The county is in talks with its tenants over a 180 million shilling debt. [Photo/County Government of Nakuru]
The County Government of Nakuru and residents occupying its houses are in talks over a Sh180 million debt owed to the county.
According to the county Lands Executive Lucy Kariuki, the money has accumulated in the last four years, blaming the situation on political interference with only half of the tenants of the over 6000 units paying rent.
Kariuki said that with the county working to achieve a city status, Nakuru town being benchmarked for promotion, the issue has to be sorted once and for all, as housing is one of the qualifications for the advancement.
''The county is working towards achieving a city status and housing is a key area we are committed to improve,'' she said.
A section of leaders from the county have however accused the county government of being non-committal on improving the poor conditions of the houses making it unrealistic to demand for rent.
''It is ironical the government owned estates have the worst garbage and sewerage disposal systems in the county. No one is willing to pay for poor services,'' said Flamingo Ward representative Eddy Kiragu.
The government is also keen on stopping the growth of semi-permanent extension constructions on its houses until a policy on the same is established.
Kariuki observed that the buildings are illegal and should be demolished..
''The illegal houses are built on sewerage lines, pavements and playgrounds in addition to being a health risk,'' she told the paper.