Women strive in Jua Kali Sector in Kitengela
KNA3 April 20, 2022

For many years, the jua kali sector in Kenya has mainly been a male-dominated industry due to its labour intensive nature.

But in Kitengela town in Kajiado County, several women have cut their niche in this sector maintaining a stable income for their families.

Rose Mutonyi, who operates her business in the Jua Kali area in Kitengela, has called the place home since 2013.

“I came to this area looking for paraffin but a fire in me told me to ask what it would cost to have a shop here since I was a sales lady then, and I wanted to have more streams of income,” she recounts.

Having dropped out from school in class 8 due to a lack of funds to further her education, Rose took up the challenge and was employed as sales lady.

She later opened her own hardware shop in the Jua Kali area paying a monthly rent of Sh4000.

“One thing am grateful for is the ladies I found in this community. They were ready to guide and show me the ropes of trade here,” she notes.

Rose said the men as well have been very supportive of the women and the business they run and there is never a case of disrespect as many would think. “It is a very conducive environment to run one’s business,” she says.

Walking in the area, you will however notice that business is not booming as you would expect it to be.

“Business is not the best since the market has been saturated with imports. The Jua Kali sector is suffering. To be honest, the time we make great business is when children transition to high school then after that, it’s another slow season in the business but we are grateful for the decent work we are doing here,” says Mama Maina another trader in the area.

Women in the Jua Kali sector in Kitengela will be found painting jikos and boxes, handling the customers who come looking for goods as well as working in hotels.

The Jua Kali artisans in this area have a self-help group commonly known as ‘Chama’ that helps them save and when in crisis, the kitty comes in handy.

Rose who is also the treasurer of the Chama, says they decided to include the men as the boy child is being left out in matters development and it’s not right as they also have family members that need support and this is the best way they could do it.

The Jua Kali artisans are calling upon Kajiado County Government to look into their workmanship and make available tenders in the County that could help them improve their income.

By Vivian Mbinya

Ruaka remains prime as Ngong, Kitengela emerge as new lucrative towns – report

https://www.capitalfm.co...lucrative-towns-report/

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 9 – Rental apartments in Ruaka continue to be the most attractive for many Kenyans owing to their proximity to town and access to affluent suburbs while Ngong and Kitengela have emerged as new lucrative satellite towns for Nairobi residents.

A report by Hass consult reveals that in the first quarter of 2021, demand for apartment rents in Ngong and Kitengela rose by 5.5 percent and 5.2 percent while Ruaka edged up 2.9 percent.

“Ruaka solidifies its position as the largest supplier of apartments in the satellite towns accounting for 30 percent of all advertised units. Satellite towns recorded the strongest growth in apartment rents with Ngong and Kitengela at 5.5 percent and 5.2 percent respectively,” the report revealed

Sakina Hassanali, Head of Development Consulting and Research at HassConsult attributed Ruaka’s strong stance to its easy access to affluent suburbs which renders high land values that can be absorbed in high-density apartment developments.

“Ruaka has therefore become the largest stockholder of apartments within the satellite as it presents the ability for the working population to enjoy both housing affordability and reduced transportation costs,” Hassanali said.

Overall, property sales prices registered a 2.89 percent raise over the same period and a 6.8 percent annual growth from March 2021.

Apartment sales pricing however remained static with a 0.6 percent drop in the quarter and a 3.4 percent drop in the year to March 2022.

“Property rental prices, however, showed a mild improvement primarily driven by a rebound of previously depressed apartment rental prices. Apartment asking rents recorded a 2.2 percent increase over the quarter lifting overall asking rents by 1 percent. Detached, semi-detached house rents were static at 0.7 percent, and 0.2 percent respectively,” the report revealed.

The demand for detached houses also rose after registering a growth of 4.3 percent and an 11.8 percent annual growth.
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Owing to eased access through the Redhill Link road, Spring Valley, Nyari and Kitisuru saw the highest growth of 4.2 percent, 3.9 percent, and 2.7 percent respectively.

Hassanali added that looking ahead to the Landlord and Tenant Bill, 2021 which if enacted into law will give the government power to cap rent increases on commercial and residential premises could potentially influence the
direction on rents.

“It is still too early to say with certainty the impact of the proposed rent control laws, but investors are keeping tabs. Similar laws such as the 2016 Banking Act that aimed at controlling interest rates to support consumers had
unintended consequences of reducing credit availability for the market.”

Good News for Mombasa Road Users as Kenya Railways Builds 2 Train Stations

Nairobi metropolitan residents using the busy Mombasa Road have a reason to smile after Kenya Railways announced plan to set up two new railway stations in Mlolongo, Machakos and Kitengela, Kajiado.

Kenya Railways, in a statement dated Thursday, May 19, stated that the mini-stations will be constructed in the Central Business Districts (CBDs) of the two towns in a bid to expand its services and ease congestion on Mombasa Road.

The corporation also opened up the tender for construction of the termini, inviting bids from prospective contractors.
The setting up of the stations will see the inclusion of Mlolongo and Kitengela in the expanding railway network. It will also increase the passenger traffic, translating to more income for the parastatal.

Currently, the commuter train runs from Athi River through Syokimau, Imara Daima, and Makadara and completes its journey at the Nairobi Central railway station.

The construction of the two stations will act to compliment the Nairobi Expressway, which has reduced the travelling time between the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi's Westlands area by more than one and a half hours.

In addition to the two new substations, Kenya Railways will build a third sub-station in Kibera. Kenya Railway is targetting the thousands of commuters from the informal settlements, noting that the existing mini-stations are inadequate to handle the traffic.

On March 16, Kenya Railways announced it would be constructing several stations in Nairobi and the neighbouring townships. Stopovers will be created in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Mutindwa and Satellite.

Other stops will be set up at Dagoretti Market, Thogoto, Aviation, Gitaru, Kariobangi South, Mutuini, Membley, Kenyatta University and Madaraka next to Strathmore University. Lukenya and Konza towns will also get new stations.

The CBD terminus is also set for expansion to accommodate the new changes. Current routes plied by the railway include the Nairobi-Kibera-Kikuyu, Nairobi-Makadara-Embakasi Village, and the Nairobi-Githurai-Mwiki-Kahawa route.

Kenya Railways made available buses at the central station that ferry passengers to various locations in the city including Upper Hill, Westlands and Yaya Centre.

The corporation will partner with the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the National Youth Service (NYS) in its efforts to ease traffic congestion in the city.

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