Mombasa District in Brief

Mombasa District is one of the seven district of Coast Province. It is the smallest of all the Districts in the province with a total of 229.6Km2 which includes 65Km2 of water mass, 31Km2 gazetted forest (mangrove), 3Km2 gazetted marine parks and 140.6Km2 peri-urban area.

Mombasa boarders Kilifi District to the North, Kwale District to the South and West and the Indian Ocean to the East. It is divided into four administrative divisions namely Changamwe, Island Likoni and Kisauni.
High population densities are found in Island division and along major highways such as Mombasa – Lungalunga in Likoni division, Mombasa – Nairobi in Changamwe Division and Mombasa – Malindi in Kisauni division. The outskirts of the district are sparsely populated. Division wise, Kisauni lead in population followed by Changamwe, Island and Likoni in that order.

The population if the District is 741,085 with a labour force of 476,689 (District Development Plan – 2002 – 2008). Its growth rate currently stands at 3.6%.

The District is rich in natural resources; the sea which supports maritime trade and fishing industries, the fringing coral reefs and the creeks and tidal flats with extensive mangrove forests which provide a breeding site for fish and the shoreline sandy beaches which are an attraction for the development of the tourist industry in the region Kilindini Habour found in the district has led to the development of Mombasa as one of the most important modern ports in East Africa.

The main source of household income in the district is wage employment which contributes 60% followed by urban self-employment 24.4%, agriculture 1% and others 14.6%. The major challenges facing the district are:

High Population growth rate – the population is projected to increase to 920,313 in 2008 from 665,018 in 1999.

Unemployment – The unemployment population stood at 189,246 during the 1999 population census and is continuing to increase by day as the population continues to increase with people moving from upcountry to look for employment.

 

Land issues - Landlessness, land struggles and housing and shelter problems. These have contributed to the impoverishment of people in Kisauni, Likoni and Changamwe divisions e.g. it is common to find indigenous families who do not know of any other homes elsewhere yet they are squatters in the areas they presently occupy. This problem has partly been caused by factors such as lack of updated land administration and management tools and absence of policies to govern on land issues. As the population grows, the challenge will be to settle the squatters and allocate land for industrial development and provision of basic social services such as schools, hospitals and shelter.

Drug abuse – this is due to the strategic location of the district as a seaport. This is a major contributing factor of insecurity.

HIV/AIDS prevalence - Currently the rate stand at 16% compared to the national prevalence rate of about 14%. This high rate of prevalence will continue to affect the household income, savings, investments and labour productivity.

Poverty – Like the other districts in the province, poverty has not spare the district either, it contributes 1.45% of the national poverty with 217,402 people (about 38.32%) living in absolute poverty and a depency ratio of 100:55. the number is expected to increase rapidly as the pace of urbanization accelerates and population increases. The vast majority of the poor live in poorly serviced and unplanned informal settlements or slums.

The immediate causes of poverty in the district include:

• Landlessness

• High and increasing costs of living

• Inaccessibility to credit facilities
• Lack of technical entrepreneurial skills
• Unemployment i.e. low incomes e.t.c.

The above major challenges call for the cooperation and participation of all the stakeholders if they are to be addressed and an appropriate solution found.