The government might consider lowering the Affordable Housing Project levy deposit from the current 10 per cent to accommodate more middle and lower-income earners, Molo MP Kimani Kuria has said.
The Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning chairperson said most of the people giving their representations during the ongoing public hearings exercise on the Affordable Housing Bill 2023 felt the monthly levy was very high.
He promised that after collecting views, the committee would find the most appropriate percentage of the total housing unit cost that would suit the lower-income earners as a way of ensuring inclusion.
Speaking in Kinangop, Nyandarua, Kuria who is also the Molo MP assured the residents that the committee would incorporate their views in the Bill.
The Bill’s objective is to create a framework for the project.
Kuria said that it was highly likely that the AHP houses would be over-subscribed because many people were interested in owning them.
“It looks like there will be more people willing to take up the houses than the available units that the government is planning to build,” he said.
The MP said those who will have paid but fail to acquire houses will have their money refunded within the shortest time possible.
“In case of a delay in the refunding the money, the housing fund will ensure that people will be paid with interest,” he said.
He promised that there would be parameters to ensure fair distribution of the housing units with priority being given to those who may have been affected by the project.
He added that the parameters were meant to ensure that the rich benefit from the housing project at the expense of the middle and low-income earners.
Kinangop MP Kwenya Thuku praised the project saying that people will get better housing which will make it easy to offer other services such as electricity and water supply.
He noted the agricultural land was reducing due to subdivision and construction thus the need to reserve the remaining land for farming and livestock keeping.
