Mohamed added that contrary to the assertions by the media, the uptake for units under AHP is exceptionally high.
State House on Tuesday, August 6 refuted media reports that there is a low uptake of units under the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) being pushed by President William Ruto.
State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed termed the reports as not only mischievous but also deliberately misleading, accusing them of largely anchoring on the Auditor General’s audit report that focused on housing projects that were designed and launched well before President Ruto assumed office in September 2022.
“They are, therefore, not in any way related to the AHP. None of the housing projects listed in the newspaper story fall under the AHP,” he clarified in a statement.
Mohamed added that contrary to the assertions by the media, the uptake for units under AHP is exceptionally high, going further to note that the government demolished 39 units of old houses in Park Road, Nairobi, and replaced them with 1,370 affordable units, all of which were sold out within 90 days.
State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed speaks during a press briefing on the affordable housing project at State House, Nairobi on Wednesday, May 24, 2023. /HUSSEIN MOHAMED
To illustrate the huge demand for affordable housing, the spokesperson indicated that when half of the 1,370 units at Park Road were offered to members of the public, over 33,000 Kenyans paid deposits of at least 10 per cent.
“Most of those who missed out have not asked for a refund of their money and are instead waiting to be allocated other units under the AHP. In a nutshell, we do not have a demand problem for the Affordable Housing Program,” he went on.
Additionally, the reports claimed that in the six years since the Boma Yangu initiative was started, it has failed to gain traction and that only 30,000 Kenyans are saving to own houses through it.
However, Mohamed stated that as of August 6, 2024, 531,943 Kenyans were saving over Ksh2.255 billion under the Boma Yangu initiative.
“This information is publicly available, and one wonders why and how a reputable media house would deliberately choose to mislead the public,” he said, directly referring to a story that appeared in the Daily Nation titled ‘Puzzle of Ruto Housing Projects.‘
He asserted that since September 2022, 103,000 affordable housing units have been launched and are in various stages of construction across the country, thus “directly and indirectly creating 160,000 jobs for the Kenyan people and thousands more through opportunities for MSMEs in the supply chain”.
Mohamed revealed the current regime is actively working to review and improve the uptake of the AHP program, adding that the program, a key pillar of the Bottom Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), did not emerge without clear planning and foresight.
He accused the local daily of overlooking the fact that the Affordable Housing Program was designed differently from previous housing programs, with specific policy interventions to lower the costs of housing significantly to ensure affordability for ordinary Kenyans.
“Such interventions include access to public land, provision of free last-mile services like sewerage, electricity, water, and internet, and exemption of all construction inputs under AHP from value-added tax (VAT),” he said.
Mohamed claimed the interventions have enabled the National Housing Corporation (NHC), as one of the implementing agencies of the AHP, to sell units at between Ksh1 million to 3 million, compared to the previous high of between Ksh7 million and 8 million.
“For example, in the case of NHC projects quoted in the story, it is true that the project launched in 2013 proved to be expensive at a cost of Ksh7 million per unit, prompting a low uptake. The NHC has since converted this to a Tenant Purchase Agreement (TPS) and has since realized improved uptake,” he said.
Also highlighted in the report is the Shimo La Tewa project, whose construction began in 2016 and stalled. Mohamed noted that the government has since completed the project, a ‘fact’ he believed the media missed.
“The Voi Pool Housing which started in 1988 and stalled in 2012 under the Public Works department, has also been taken up under the AHP and will soon be completed under phase I and II to deliver 320 units,” he said.
Further, Mohamed explained that the Kenya Development Corporation constructed housing units between 2011 and 2015 but they do not fall under the Affordable Housing Program, adding that the project is a housing investment scheme under the State Corporation.
President William Ruto (centre) holds the Affordable Housing Act, alongside Lands CS Alice Wahome (second from right) and Attorney General Justin Muturi at State House on March 19, 2024. /PCS