- The relevant committee hs proposed 43 amendments to the Bill ahead of the committee of the whole house.
- The Bill does not require a two-thirds threshold to sail through, but only a simple majority.
Image: FILE
President William Ruto’s affordable housing project faces a major reality check on Wednesday when MPs take the final vote on the proposed housing legislation.
Ruto scored big on Tuesday afternoon when he dwarfed the opposition numbers, garnering 141 votes in favour of the Affordable Housing Bill, 2023.
The opposition, whose majority of members were absent, managed 58 votes during the National Assembly vote.
The President has affirmed that his legacy affordable housing project is unstoppable and would proceed at all costs, urging his troops in Parliament to marshal enough numbers.
After the MPs' approval of the Bill at the Second Reading on Tuesday, the proposed law will be moved to the Third Reading on Wednesday.
Being an ordinary Bill which does not seek to amend any part of the Constitution, the Affordable Housing Bill, 2023 will be approved by a simple majority in the House.
Pleas from Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi to delay the debate of the Bill at the third reading stage were also unsuccessful as the Speaker ruled that the debate would go on as scheduled on Wednesday afternoon.
“Due to the many amendments that have been proposed by various members on the controversial Bill, I would request that you give us time so that we debate the Bill on Thursday to allow as many members as possible to bring amendments,” the Ugunja MP pleaded.
However, the request was opposed by Majority Leader Kimani Ichungw’ah who asked the Speaker to allow members to propose amendments but insisted on the need for the Bill not to be delayed.
“We should not delay the debate on this Bill, any amendments can be proposed and we can even have a supplementary order paper, but this debate must come tomorrow,” Ichung’wah said.
“I want to see which MP is going to oppose this Bill, I want to see which MP is going to deny his electorates an opportunity to get a job because this Bill is about the creation of jobs, it’s about jobs for our people.”
Several amendments have been proposed to the Bill including scrubbing the 10 per cent deposit required to own a house.
“There was a fear that these houses would be taken by the rich at the expense of the people who could benefit from this affordable housing," Finance Committee chair Kimani Kuria said.
He said the committee would be proposing to have one ID or one KRA Pin allocated to one house so that people don't take advantage.
"We don't want people to take advantage of this particular program and invest in them at the expense of the hustlers that are benefiting from this programme,” he said.
Kuria, who co-chaired the joint parliamentary committee, highlighted plans to propose amendments to address concerns raised during public participation in the Affordable Housing Bill.
“We will be introducing several amendments to address the concerns raised by MPs and the public, particularly regarding land ownership and the transfer of housing units,” Kuria said.
Among the proposed amendments is the removal of the requirement for a ten per cent deposit before acquiring a housing unit.
“We have heeded the concerns of Kenyans who find the proposed 10 per cent deposit too burdensome and unaffordable for many who wish to participate in this program,” Kuria said.
Moving to the Committee of the Whole House stage permits lawmakers to propose amendments to the original bill before its final approval during the Third Reading also known as the Committee of the Whole House.