insert_link Africa Kenya is badly prepared for floods: four steps to reduce devastation and deaths By Augustine Kiptum, University of Sussex Floods in Kenya in April/May 2024 led to the deaths of over 250 people and caused damage estimated at 4 billion Kenya shillings (US$35 million). Not for the first time, Kenya’s lack of preparedness was apparent as flooding rampaged through rural and urban landscapes. There was also confusion as to who would deal with the disaster – the national […] todayMay 22, 2024 11
insert_link 6 2 Oshiwambo Oshiwana mo mudingonoko wa Havana mo Windhoek , sha hafela eenghendabala doku hovela no ilonga yo ku tunga oshipangelo. Ovakalimo va dja meenele do malukanda moshilando pangelo moWindhoek ova tambulako no maoko ashambekela eenghendabala de pangelo eshi la kufa etokolo oku va etela endiki lo uhaku popepi navo. Oshiwana sha dja mo malukanda ayooloka oshilando pangelo, onghela okwali sha ka kala eendombwedi de hovelo loilonga yo kutunga oshipangelo sha kula momudingonoko wa Windhoek, osho tashi tengenekwa shi ka kale sha fikamifwapo ko shimaliwa shee N$16 billion, tashi ka tungwa […] todayMay 17, 2024 17 2 6
insert_link Africa Kenya’s devastating floods expose decades of poor urban planning and bad land management By Sean Avery, King's College London Floods in Kenya killed at least 169 people between March and April 2024. The most catastrophic of these deaths occurred after a flash flood swept through a rural village killing 42 people. Death and destruction have also occurred in the capital, Nairobi, a stark reminder of the persistent failure to keep abreast of the city’s rapid urbanisation needs. Sean Avery, who […] todayMay 2, 2024 18
insert_link Africa Lagos’ slum dwellers are excluded from decisions that affect them. 3 ways to change that By Oluwaseyi Omowunmi Popogbe, Crawford University Lagos is a city of two halves: money dripping in the corridors of corporate offices, and stagnant water dripping in the slums that are home to over 20 million. Residents of informal settlements grapple with the daily challenges that come with inadequate infrastructure, limited access to essential services, and social exclusion. Social exclusion means being excluded from participating wholly in the […] todayApril 22, 2024 10
insert_link Uncategorized Mungiki, Kenya’s violent youth gang, serves many purposes: how identity, politics and crime keep it alive By Bodil Folke Frederiksen, Roskilde University Kenya has scores of youth gangs known for their violence and links to the politically powerful. None is more infamous than the Mungiki movement, with a past membership estimated to be at least a million. Though banned, it’s constantly in the news as a tool or target of big political players. Bodil Folke Frederiksen, who has studied Mungiki as part of […] todayFebruary 15, 2024 4
insert_link South Africa Illegal dumping swamps Nelson Mandela Bay Residents burn rubbish outside the Motherwell NU8 clinic. Photos: Joseph Chirume By Joseph Chirume via GroundUp An ever-increasing number of illegal dump sites that are not getting cleared by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality is making life unpleasant for people living in the townships of Gqeberha. It may also be impacting their health. GroundUp visited Motherwell, Kamvelihle, Wells Estate, and Kuyga, and found garbage blowing about the streets and a […] todayFebruary 2, 2024 14
insert_link South Africa Garbage piling up in Cape Town townships as extortion gangs drive out City contractors Samora Machel residents say they have been using this part of Oliver Tambo Drive as a dumping site because their rubbish bins has not been collected for months. Photos: Sandiso Phaliso By Sandiso Phaliso via GroundUp On almost every corner in Samora Machel, Philippi East and Browns Farm in Cape Town, rubbish is piling up. There is so much rubbish that some streets, such as Hart Lane and Oliver Tambo […] todayFebruary 1, 2024 13
insert_link Namibia Over 200 000 houses envisaged for construction from 2024 The recently revised National Housing Policy and Implementation Action Plan amongst others provides for the acceleration of the servicing of 340 000 new plots and construction of over 200 000 houses over the next five years. The policy, which was approved by Cabinet in November 2023, also approves the scaling up and upgrading of at least 60 per cent of existing informal settlements across the country between 2024 and […] todayDecember 15, 2023 8
insert_link Namibia Windhoek has enough land to cater for low-cost housing: Matyayi The Chief Executive Officer of the City of Windhoek, Moses Matyayi, has said that the City has sufficient land to support housing initiatives aimed at formalising informal settlements in the nation’s capital. The Windhoek municipality, together with the National Housing Enterprise (NHE) and the Ministry of Urban and Rural Development, is implementing a pilot project to construct low-cost housing in the city’s informal settlements. The Informal Settlement Upgrading Project (ISUP) […] todayDecember 8, 2023 7
Paying it forward: Kenyan coastal doctor Bashrahil Mohammed Mafudh has made it his life’s work to care for the most vulnerable in his community, at no cost.
