• The corporation on Tuesday said in the National Hospital Insurance Fund, not all who pay get sick so as to use their contributions.
• Chanju encouraged Kenyans to embrace it to make it easier for the government to construct affordable houses for poor Kenyans.
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
@Yobramos4
The National Housing Corporation has sought to demystify the 1.5 per cent housing levy, saying it will operate almost in the same manner as the NHIF.
The corporation on Tuesday said in the National Hospital Insurance Fund, not all who pay get sick so as to use their contributions.
NHC chairperson Yusuf Chanju said the 1.5 per cent that will be deducted will go into a fund which will help the government implement the construction of affordable housing units across the country.
“Many people mistake the 1.5 per cent idea. Many complain to me that it will take up to 100 years for them to reach the amount of money for them to own the houses.
“That is not the case. The money will go into a fund. Just like the NHIF. It is not a must that you will go to hospital when you contribute to the NHIF,” Chanju said after a site visit of a parcel of land it owns in Likoni, Mombasa county.
He explained that in the NHIF, when one contributes for even six months alone, they will get treated when they get sick even at a cost more than their contribution.
“That is a fund to help us have money to start off this project. And it is a national responsibility,” Chanju said.
He encouraged Kenyans to embrace it to make it easier for the government to construct affordable houses for poor Kenyans.
The NHC board is on a tour of its lands and projects at the Coast.
On Monday, the board was at Voi Infield in Voi, Taita Taveta county, where 80 two-bedroom units are being constructed.
“These are rentals. But when we go back to Nairobi, we will discuss and see whether we can change them to units that can be sold to individuals,” Chanju said.
The board is mulling constructing more units there.
In Wundanyi, the board has identified land where they will initiate talks with the Taita Taveta government with a view to constructing more units.
The county owes the NHC some money.
“When we talk about affordable housing, if we are forced to buy land, the units will be expensive. They will be like mortgage houses," Chanju said.
“But if we are to build affordable houses, we must use public land – either our own land or county government land.”
The board was in Likoni where the NHC has a parcel of prime land next to the Likoni-Ukunda highway.
The parcel is also neighbouring land belonging to the Mombasa government.
“We are in negotiations with the Mombasa government to see if we can get the land so we can do more units here,” Chanju said.
The corporation had envisioned to build 66 units in Likoni but due to the housing demand they plan to build more units.
“Instead of the five-storey building we have been building, we want to build blocks with more than 10 floors,” Chanju said.
The board wants to copy China where there are hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units.
“We were in China for three weeks and what we saw there you can’t believe it. Wherever we went, we could see, in any direction, hundreds of flats with more than 50 floors. And that is everywhere we went, every town we went to,” Chanju said.
The board chairperson said they would like collaboration with county governments, banks, rich Kenyans and private companies to build affordable houses for Kenyans.
Chanju said they also want to use latest technology to use cheaper materials that will further make the houses cheap.
The chairman revealed they have identified a factory in Mlolongo that makes panels, same technology used in Singapore, China, and Turkey, but that has not hit the market well.
“So for now, the affordable houses we are building go for about Sh1.5 million for a studio apartment, which is a bedsitter,” Chanju said.
These are being built in Embu, Homa Bay, Kirinyaga, Nakuru and Nairobi counties.
One-bedroom units go for Sh2.5 million and two-bedroom units go for Sh3.5 million.
“But these will be cheaper if we use the cheaper panels like those used in Singapore, China and Turkey,” Chanju said.
He said the units they build can be occupied by any Kenyan, not only the civil servants.
He said the aim is to ensure the cost of the houses are as affordable as possible, even at Sh5,000-a-month rent.