Life in Kibera

I try to do a little more than just link to other people's writings, but this is one of the best articles I've read in a while:

Upwardly Mobile Africa: Boomtown Slum

And the correspondent undoubtedly knows a lot more on the subject than I do. The article tells the story of a day in Kibera, the largest shanty town slum in Africa. It is part of Nairobi, the capitol of Kenya. Around 1 million people live informally (i.e. as squatters), without a sign of the government, in one square mile.

The point of the article is that this is not a pit of humanity festering in poverty. It is a very poor place, but has a very entrepreneurial and growing economy. Signs of growth can be found all over, and new residents come from the country side to seek a better life. Many in Kibera have incomes above the poverty threshold (of $1.25 a day), many residents are counted among the middle class according to the World Banks threshold of $10 a day.

Before anyone gets too libertarian about it, the government can make these people better off. Their richer neighbors in Nairobi pay less for water and electricity because they don't rely on informal businesses to tap into the grid. But what can a cash-strapped government do? Formalizing the shanty town and giving property ownership to the residents would immediately boost their wealth and give the countless entrepreneurs access to capital.