In the Bible, Jesus talks of a wise and a foolish builder. The wise man built his house on a rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall. The foolish man built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.
Jesus was emphasising the importance of obedience as a foundation. Foundations are critical for a strong, durable structure. We are on the verge of building a foundation — both literally and figuratively — under President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda. We must build a strong foundation for the Big Four to build an economy that serves generations to come.
The housing component of the Big Four is a critical factor of building this foundation. Owning a home is still a dream for many Kenyans. Getting a mortgage from a bank is difficult due to high interest rates, and there are few other options for financing. The real estate market has been plagued with speculators, and properties are unaffordable as prices rise every year.
To make home ownership affordable for generations to come, we must do it today. The affordable housing pillar intends to do this by building and selling reasonably priced houses to a vast majority of Kenyans.
Today you will need millions to afford a family home, a situation that has shattered the dream of many Kenyans. Article 43 ( 1 )(b) of the Constitution states: “Every person has the right to accessible and adequate housing, and to reasonable standards of sanitation.” The Jubilee administration is therefore in order to put in place the affordable housing plan.
The plan is for the government to facilitate the building of at least 500,000 new homes by 2022 through two programmes — social housing and affordable housing. Social housing is to enable low- income earning Kenyans and especially those in informal settlements to get decent homes.
The government is working on partnerships with financial institutions, private developers, building materials manufacturers and cooperatives to deliver homes faster and reduce the cost of construction by at least 50 per cent. Once completed, a one-bedroom house under the social housing programme will sell for Sh600,000, with a two-bedroom unit going for Sh1.05 million. The cost of the units under the affordable housing programme will range from Sh800,000 for a bedsitter to Sh3 million for a three-bedroom unit.
But as all this is done, the government must ensure that this process is not politicised, or infiltrated by the corrupt. There would be nothing worse than a rich politically connected person being allowed to buy 10 homes, while those in need get none.
It would be prudent to create a digital open platform, like the e-citizen, where every interested Kenyan can apply openly. The same platform should openly list everyone who has been allocated a home, and the whole process should be audited by the Auditor General. This open accountability will prevent corrupting of the process and jeopardising this worthwhile initiative. It will also ensure that the housing agenda gets the backing of all Kenyans.
Political and communications consultant
@MachelWaikenda