• The President announced the Big Four plan in December 2017.
• The agenda covers food security, affordable housing, growth of manufacturing and universal healthcare.
Image: PATRICK VIDIJA
Partnerships are one of the best options to achieve low-cost housing, State Department of Housing officer Daniel Giti has said.
Giti said the government is obligated to provide adequate, accessible, decent and quality housing for citizens in line with Vision 2030.
“The country has sought the application of the best strategies to address this requirement, especially low-cost housing, because the current demand for housing stands at 250,000 units per year, while supply remains at 50,000 units per year, hence a deficit of 200,000,” he said.
He said a study backed the idea of providing low-cost housing through public-private partnerships.
Giti said 88 respondents comprising housing practitioners, financiers and developers were interviwed for the study.
“It was concluded that PPPs are applicable in the provision of low-cost urban housing, and as such the country should embrace its application,” he added.
Giti spoke during the Institution of Engineers of Kenya 27th annual conference in Mombasa.
Nicholas Musuni, the Engineers Board of Kenya chief executive, said the third phase of Vision 2030 is being implemented through the Big Four agenda.
Engineering practice, he said, “cuts across virtually all the sectors of the economy and is undoubtedly an important enabler in the achievement of the development agenda.
“Engineers play a critical role in ensuring industries gets reliable energy supply, ensures connectivity through adequate infrastructure and facilitate creation and generation of wealth through efficient systems and processes for production”.
The President announced the Big Four agenda in December 2017. The agenda covers food security, affordable housing, growth of manufacturing and universal healthcare.
In housing, the government is on course in implementing a number of affordable housing projects, backed by the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Corporation, which started lending in September.
This was after it was licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya.
The corporation received seed money of Sh25 billion and Sh10 billion from the World Bank and the African Development Bank respectively.