PS Hinga urges investors to join affordable housing project

Housing Permanent Secretary Charles Hinga has urged investors to join hands with the government in the ongoing project to construct affordable houses across the country.

Speaking at an investment forum dubbed "La Pearl Investors Summit 2023" in Westlands, Nairobi, on Monday, he said the project was on course and the government had completed 40,000 units in different parts of the country.

He said the government aimed to build 200,000 affordable houses every year, and the bidding for the construction of another 45,000 units would be advertised soon.

The new houses will be built in 16 constituencies, he added.

"Every working Kenyan and more so every citizen expects to retire at a decent home. That's why the government is building houses for people to live a decent life upon their retirement and through their investment in the housing project," explained Hinga.

He also disclosed that the slum upgrading process in the country would go on as the affordable housing project continued.

Through the slum upgrading project, Hinga said the government targeted the construction of 15,000 houses in the Kibera slum.

He further revealed that a new Agrocity would be constructed in Kikuyu constituency soon.

Molo MP Francis Kuria Kimani, who is also the Chairman of the Finance and National Planning Committee in the National Assembly, said the one-day forum would help in marketing Kenya as an investment and trade destination for investors.

"The country has a conducive and favourable environment for investors to invest in. We are one of the three fastest-growing countries in the use of technology, and through e-mobility, investors can reap profits from their investments," Kimani said.

He added that through the government tax amnesty programme, a total of KSh6.9 billion that was owed to KRA had its owners pardoned, which would help, including traders, to unlock their businesses.

Through affordable housing, the MP said the cost of buying houses in Nairobi had dropped by a big margin. He gave an example: in 2017, an apartment in Lavington, Nairobi, cost between Sh17 and Sh21 million, but currently it stands at between KSh7 and 8 million.

Nairobi CEC members for Innovation, Digital Economy, and Trade Mike Gumo and Maureen Njeri, who represented Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja at the summit, said the county government was facing a number of challenges, which they were working on to make the city more attractive for investment.

"The city is facing challenges of urbanisation, growing population, and infrastructure, among others, but through Governor Sakaja, we are ready to deal with them and welcome more investors in the country," Gumo said.

He said the county would continue working towards making the city an investment destination by giving hope and rolling out a number of activities.

Gumo said the county had enabled young people talented in various fields, including photography, to showcase their innovation through documentation of the city.

Dr. Wambui Kahara, who is the CEO and Co-Founder of the La Investments Africa, which organised the summit, said her organisation was spearheading high-value investment projects across African countries, engaging directly with top entrepreneurs to foster startups and support ambitious organisations striving for rapid growth.

"Our approach involves unlocking investment prospects and enabling expansion by forging alliances between enterprises and government partners, ensuring seamless support services and operational scalability. We aim to facilitate international investors' entry into Africa by providing comprehensive services, from market analysis to project facilitation," Kahara said.