See detailed explanation of Kazi Mtaani as shown on the Ministry of Housing website
1. What is Kazi Mtaani?
The National Hygiene
Program (NHP), dubbed Kazi Mtaani, is a national initiative that
designed to cushion the most vulnerable but able-bodied citizens living in
informal settlements from the effects and response strategies of the COVID-19
pandemic.
It was conceptualized
an extended public works project (EPWPs) aimed at utilizing labor intensive
approaches to create sustainable public goods in the urban development
sector. Through this initiative, residents from informal settlements are
recruited to undertake projects concentrated in and around informal settlements
with the aim of improving the environment, service delivery infrastructure, and
providing income generation opportunities.
The first phase of
Kazi Mtaani kicked off in April 2020 as a pilot program and focused on select
informal settlements in the 8 counties of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kiambu, Nakuru,
Kisumu, Kilifi, Kwale, and Mandera. The program employed over 26,000
workers from informal settlements.
The second phase of
Kazi Mtaani will be expanded to cover 34 counties and employ 200,000 workers
from informal settlements to engage in more urban development projects.
With more funding be
available, the program hopes to then roll out subsequent phases that will cover
all 47 counties.
2. What’s the objective of the programme?
The objective of the
Kazi Mtaani program is to provide a form of social protection for workers whose
prospects for daily or casual work has been disrupted by the containment policies
put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19.
The program is also
structured as a local economic recovery program which aims to restore disrupted
economic activity in informal settlements while creating a public good.
The program achieves
these goals by:
- Prioritizing labor-intensive approaches to
EPWPs so that many people are employed (e.g. employing many young people
from one of the informal settlements in a particular area)
- Utilizing local suppliers and giving
preference to locally manufactured goods and services (e.g. sourcing PPEs
like gumboots from local manufacturers like BATA)
- Creating public good (e.g. collecting
mounds of garbage from within informal settlements and opening up clogged
drainages, too).
In this way, Kazi
Mtaani ensures we have cleaner environments as one way of combating the
ravaging COVID-19 pandemic while at the same time puts money in the pockets of
the youth who are then able for fend for their families.
3. Who are the target beneficiaries of the program?
This program targets
residents of informal settlements who are above eighteen (18) years of age and
are unable to find work due to the disruption of normal economic
activity. For now, the program has the added restriction of being open to
youths only, though, in some areas workers above the classification of youth
are recruited.
4. How many youths will be benefited from the program?
Phase I initially
employed 26,148 youth drawn from select informal settlements in 8 counties. An
additional 3,638 were added to the roster after Eastleigh in Nairobi City
County and Old Town in Mombasa County were placed under restricted movement.
There are also plans to add some more youth from Naivasha due to the massive
layoffs and shutting down of flower farms.
Under Phase II of the
program, the Government plans to engage 200,000 from 34 counties across the
country for a period of 6.5 months.
It is envisaged that
the youth will undertake skilled and unskilled activities in a bid to ensure
that the program delivers value post-COVID-19.
5. How much are the youths paid?
Currently, enlisted
workers from Nairobi, Kisumu, and Mombasa earn a daily wage of Kshs. 653.10 per
day while workers from all other municipalities earn a daily wage of Kshs.
600.00 per day. The wages are guided by the Wage Order of 2018.
Payments are made once
a week through mobile money transfer.
6. How long do the youth work?
The youth are expected
to work for a maximum of 8 hours from 8.00am to 4.00pm, Monday to Friday, every
week.
They do not provide
their services over the weekends and public holidays.The maximum number of days
in a month they work is 22 days in Phase I.
In Phase II of the
program, in order to expand opportunities for more youth, the maximum number of
days each individual worker will work in a given month is 11 days.
7. What activities are undertaken under the program?
The key activities
undertaken in Phase I include:
- street cleaning or access path clearing;
- fumigation and disinfection;
- garbage collection;
- bush clearing; and
- drainage cleaning/clearing/unclogging.
For Phase II, the
program will go beyond the routine service delivery model which focused on
garbage collection activities, bush clearing, etc., and focus on longer term
projects that will provide benefits to communities beyond today and tomorrow.
Therefore, in Phase
II, projects such as construction of access roads within informal settlements
using cobblestones will be undertaken. Other interesting projects include:
- upgrade of public sanitation facilities
including building public toilets, increasing wash stations, and even
working to relocate water and sewer lines in places where they are exposed
or pose a threat to those living in informal settlements.
- creating and paving walkways for people so
that they are not walking on dusty paths and muddy areas, creating
drainage within informal settlements
- creating community gardens within
settlements;
- constructing green spaces and pocket parks
where children can play, where land can be made available;
- repairing and refurbishing public offices,
nursery schools, and community halls within informal settlements; and
- many other similar projects.
For those projects
that anticipate construction, some youth will be manufacturing interlocking
stabilized soil blocks (ISSBs) at the Appropriate Building Materials and
Technologies (AMBT) Centers located in various constituencies across the
country. These blocks will then be used to construct walls for various
structure such as community halls, public toilets, dispensaries, etc.
8. Where are the targeted informal settlements?
An initial 27
settlements in the 8 counties were targeted. However, 2 additional settlements
– Old Town in Mombasa and Eastleigh in Nairobi were added on to the areas
benefitting from the program bring the total number of settlements to 29.
|
Counties |
No of Settlements |
Name of Settlements |
|
Nairobi |
5 |
Kibera, Mathare,
Mukuru, Korogocho, EastLeigh |
|
Mombasa |
4 |
Bangladesh, Kaa
Chonjo, Ziwa la Ngombe, Old Town |
|
Kiambu |
5 |
Kiandutu, Kiangombe,
Shauri Yako – Kinoo, Shauri Yako -Uthiru, Kibagare |
|
Nakuru |
4 |
Kaptembwa, Rhonda,
Lakeview, London |
|
Kisumu |
5 |
Nyalenda A, Nyalenda
B, Obunga, Manyatta A, Manyatta B |
|
Kwale |
2 |
White House, Karanja
Estate |
|
Kilifi |
2 |
KKB, Jakaba |
|
Mandera |
2 |
Bulla Jamhuria,
Shafshafey |
- The list of settlements that will benefit
from the program under Phase II is still being carefully considered based
on a needs assessment and will be communicated soon.
The program would like
to align as much as possible with County Integrated Development Plans as well
as priority areas for the Counties since the goal is to have an impact on
economic recovery at a local level and graduate upwards to the economic plans for
County Governments.
9. Why were the 8 counties selected for the pilot program?
The counties that were
selected for the pilot project were those with communities that were most
affected by the Government’s responses to contain the spread of COVID-19.
A few weeks after the
confirmation of the first positive case in Kenya, these areas were already
beginning to bear the brunt of the government’s response strategies such as the
restricted movements policies initiated to contain the spread of the virus.
With the contraction
of the economy which has negatively affect many sectors, majority of low-income
earners, especially those who are casuals, have lost the opportunity to earn
their daily wages. Not only has this affected their ability to meet basic
needs for their families, it impacted those local businesses within informal
settlements that rely on their patronage to survive. As a result, the
impact of losing daily work has led to more desperation for local businesses as
well.
It was therefore
envisaged that Kazi Mtaani would help plug those income losses by providing
workers with daily wages and paying them frequently so that money can begin to
circulate again within informal settlements and in this way provide for
livelihoods.
10. What is the recruitment procedure?
The Kazi Mtaani
recruitment is done through a grass root selection committee that identifies
suitable workers. The selection committee is comprised of:
- Informal settlements leadership;
- Settlement Executive Committees (SECs),
where they are operational;
- Nyumba Kumi leaders; and
- National Government Administration
Officers (NGAOs).
Members of this
committee are well versed with the localities and are known to the communities
thus they are best placed to undertake this exercise. This method of
selection has been used in similar projects and has proved effective in
identifying qualified individuals as per the local needs assessment and
projects at hand.
The registration of
workers is done on a daily basis by the supervising officers from the
implementing agencies and verified by the selection committee.
11. What are the qualification criteria for one to be engaged under Kazi Mtaani?
The people who are
selected to work in the program must be Kenyan above eighteen (18) years of
age, and must hold a valid Identification Card.
At present, the
program is targeting youth so that opportunities are also limited to those
below age of 35 years. Consideration is given to other workers especially in
areas where it is difficult to find youths willing to work.
All recruited and must
be able to provide a verifiable telephone number and registered for Mpesa.
Details of their ID
and phone number used to register for the mobile money services must match so
as to facilitate their wage payments.
12. Who provides the supervision capacity?
The supervision of
daily activities is provided by personnel from the National Youth Service and
in some areas, Nyumba Kumi elders have effectively played this role.
The supervisors ensure
that work schedules, safety, and quality standards are met and adhered to.
The supervisors are
provided with guidance from technical officers from various implementing
agencies such as Kenya Urban Road Authorities (KURA) and Kenya Rural Roads
Authority (KeRRA) who have established standards on bush clearing and drainage
unclogging activities, for instance. For garbage collection, various
counties (CECs) in charge of an environment as well as municipal managers, in some
instances, provide guidance.
13. How long is the Kazi Mtaani Programme going to run?
Phase I of Kazi Mtaani
was launched on April 29th, 2020, and ended on June 2nd,
2020 after the period of 22 days of work elapsed. The project was, however, extended for an additional one month to allow for planning for Phase
II to be completed.
For Phase II of Kazi
Mtaani, the program will be run for six and a half months from July 2020.
14. Where is the source of funds for this programme?
The initial phase of
Kazi Mtaani has been funded through existing allocations from the Kenya
Informal Settlements Improvement Project (KISIP) and the Slum Upgrading
Department (SUD), both of which are under the State Department for Housing and
Urban Development (SDHUD).
Additionally, the
activity on the production of face masks was funded by the State Department for
Petroleum through Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) who worked with the National
Youth Service (NYS) to produce 1 Mn masks.
The second phase of
the programme will be financed by the National Government particularly in the
provision of monies to pay daily wages. The participation of County
Governments will also be integrated in the program as they will provide input
into priority projects; provide tools, materials, equipment, and inputs for
various projects; as well as provide technical guidance for various activities.
This collaboration
between National and County Governments will ensure that there is continuity,
sustainability, and that the institutions mandated to provide urban service
delivery are strengthened.
15. How much has been disbursed so far?
Phase I of Kazi Mtaani
has so far disbursed a total of Kshs. 342 Mn for the first 21 days of work in
the original 8 counties.
For the Eastleigh and
Old Town wages, an estimated Kshs. 16.29 Mn has been paid workers for the first
10 days of work.
With the extension of
the program for another month, an additional amount will be provided to the
youth that have been recruited and this document will be updated accordingly.
Under Phase II, approximately Kshs. 10 Bn has been earmarked for the Program, primarily providing wages for the 200,000 recruited workers for a period of 6.5 months.