President William Ruto has hinted that the land already occupied by Kenyans on which the government intends to build homes as part of the Affordable Housing Program will receive adequate support.
Ruto allayed eviction fears on Sunday during a church service in Bahati, Nairobi County, by stating that residents of the targeted land will receive financial assistance to rent a place somewhere while they wait for the construction to stop.
“It is our responsibility to provide every Kenyan with a place to reside while they wait for their houses to be completed; there won’t be any evictions. We’ll give you money to rent a home for two years, and once the house is built, you may move in,” Ruto stated.
Ruto stated that the construction of housing units is anticipated to begin on a high note by the end of 2024, despite stressing that his government is dedicated to giving cheap homes to Kenyans living below the poverty line.
Our goal is to have 50,000 dwellings constructed in Nairobi alone by the end of this year. Before the year ends, we will have begun building at least 30,000 houses in Makarara,” Ruto continued.
“We should have one million homeowners in Kenya within the next five years so that we can start to improve the living conditions of Kenyans.”
State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed has in the past stated that the government is seeking to create a new generation of homeowners under the programme by constructing 250,000 houses every year for low-income earners.
This comes as the Housing Bill, which was termed unconstitutional by the courts for lacking a legal framework and has been met by a tiff contention from Kenyans, became law after Ruto’s assent.
Kenyans, both salaried and unsalaried, will be expected to pay 1.5% to the Housing Levy from their monthly salaries.
