State's affordable housing project: Why Kenyans are sceptical

Boma Yangu new Mukuru housing etate.[Wilberforce Okwiri,standard]

The revelation that more than half a million Kenyans who subscribed for affordable housing units aren’t paying to be allocated their units is worrying and threatens to sully President William Ruto’s controversial legacy project.

 Critics of the unpopular project now fear the country may end up with units that have no takers or remain unoccupied if this trend continues or the government doesn’t rethink this policy, especially ways to entice Kenyans to subscribe to the units.

 They aver that the rent-to-own model, under which the housing levy is still deducted, makes no sense and amounts to double taxation.

Others say the model is lopsided, as some of the beneficiaries could be those in the informal sector whose salaries don’t feel the chop, as their payments do not pass through any financial institutions’ pay points and are probably self-employed, leaving salaried employees to shoulder the burden of Ruto’s legacy project.

 Peter Mburu, a manager with a real estate agency based in Nakuru, says it would make sense if the government were to let only the units and use rental collections to build more units.

 “It makes sense if the government were to rethink its approach to how the units are financed. For example, the government could let them use rental collections to build more units and cease taxing Kenyans with a housing levy,” he says.

 He adds that if the government sets rental prices well below market rates, the units will be oversubscribed long before they’re complete.

 This would leave private developers hard-pressed to reduce rents, even in high-end estates where affordable housing units are located, or to up their game to compete with the government for clients.

 A private developer, speaking on condition of anonymity, says the government should have given the private sector the mandate to build the units and deliver them to the government, rather than the government taking the initiative to construct them. He notes that this is what has eroded Kenyans’ trust.

 No wonder many are not paying for the units, as they read a sinister motive into the affordable housing agenda.

 Moreover, he says that companies associated with politicians, such as those doing business with government, like bagging tenders for supplying materials or even constructing the units, may be seen as having many political connections, even if the project is seen as a noble initiative in some quarters.

 “When you look closely at where some of these units are located, you’re left asking what will attract tenants there,” he says.

 He points out that there are no industries in the countryside or rural settings and no supporting infrastructure, such as markets, schools, or significant economic activities, that would attract throngs of people to settle in such places.

 “We may end up with unoccupied units because they were not built to address a housing problem that was not there in the first place.”

 The government has claimed the housing units are aimed at freeing arable land from fragmentation to boost food security. But critics argue that this approach can’t work, especially in the countryside, where a community housing system is unheard of, and there is no policy regulating individual land fragmentation. 

With housing PS Charles Hinga saying the other day that the government is working with a leading telco to develop ways for Kenyans to access their affordable housing savings, it’s likely many will withdraw their savings and unsubscribe from the system.

 Julius Wanjama, a developer, says that, based on his interactions with clients, only a few would opt for complete houses like affordable housing units. Many feel the units are overpriced and out of reach even for those being taxed, who may not end up owning the units.

 “Kenyans love to build at their own pace when money is available. Depending on the kind of unit one is subscribed to, the cost can build one a modest house in the countryside,” he says. To him, building on a staggered process on inherited or bought land is far safer than paying for units that you’ll own in thirty years.