The government requires over 800 billion shillings to upgrade homes in slums areas in the country.

To this end the government and development partners have initiated the Kenya Slums U pgrading Programme (KENSUP) whose first phases include improvement of houeses in slum areas of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, while the second phase will cover other provincial towns including Eldoret and Thika.

Housing minister Soita Shitanda said the plan was part of the government's efforts to achieve Vision 2030.

The Minister, who was speaking at the Kisumu Housing Expo, said that there is need to develop Kisumu's property market as the region has been mooted to become the headquarter of the East Africa Community.

Shitanda said the ministry is implementing housing projects in Kisumu's informal settlements through KENSUP which aims at improving the lives and living conditions of about 5.4 million slum dwellers in all Kenyan urban slums through systematic improvement of living environment.

He said the Government has drafted a Bill that will address the problems between landlords and tenants

Kisumu Mayor Sam Okello urged investors to construct more houses and hostels in the Lake side town to meet the increasing demand for accommodation.