President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday morning witnessed the signing of a deal to deliver 100,000 affordable housing units.
The project will be financed through a partnership between the government and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS).
The signing took place on the sidelines of the ongoing 73rd United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The affordable housing agreement between Kenya and UNOPS is part of the UN agency's Social Impact Investment Initiative (S3i), a programme that underlines UN's commitment to fostering innovative financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
When fully implemented, the agreement will boost Kenya's efforts towards the realization of the ambitious affordable housing agenda as outlined in the Big 4 development blueprint by injecting 100,000 units into the market.
“Our Affordable Housing Program seeks to implement interventions that will ensure that developers can produce housing units at scale, homebuyers can access affordable financing facilities that allow them to buy homes, and that the enabling environment facilitates innovation, embraces technology, and commercial arrangements that can bring down the cost of construction,” President Uhuru observed when he witnessed the signing of the agreement.
The total estimated investments for the program of delivering affordable housing is approximately Sh1.3 billion.
President Uhuru said he wants the Government to deliver on its housing commitment without putting undue pressure on the exchequer.
“We are therefore focusing on financing and investment frameworks that will unlock private sector financing for this program,” said the President.
The President added that for every dollar that will be invested, the country anticipates that up to three times will be realized in the greater economy.
“We believe that we will be able to utilize our labour and create 3 to 5 direct jobs and up to 8 indirect jobs per unit we build,” he said.
On her part, UNOPS Executive Director Grete Faremo lauded the agreement saying the initiative is part of efforts to ensure people have an opportunity to live comfortably so as to contribute to the country’s economic growth without many challenges in life.
UNOPS Social Impact Investment Initiative seeks to de-risk infrastructure investment projects that will help to attract financing from the private sector.
Under the Affordable Housing Program, the Government aims to provide half a million adequate, decent and affordable houses for its citizens by 2022.
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