Ruto hands over first 'affordable houses' even as hustlers protest

The housing project, which was started by the former Jubilee administration, comprises 45 one-bedroom houses which have been sold for Sh1.55 million each, 180 two-bedroom units at Sh3.15 million each, and 380 three-bedroom units which cost Sh4.25 million per unit.

Construction of the project commenced on May 27, 2021, with a Sh2 billion funding by King Sapphire Developers, a subsidiary of Royal Group Industries that focuses on real estate developments.

In December, last year, during a meeting with journalists at State House in Nairobi, President Ruto defended the cost of the affordable housing project.

"To own a house in Kenya today you need to have 4 million, 5 million [for] the cheapest house. We are giving an opportunity through this affordable housing programme for a mama mboga or a boda boda guy to buy a house of Sh400,000 where they can pay Sh4,000 a month and eventually own a house," noted Ruto.

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But on the Ministry of Lands advert, the Sh400,000 is just 10 percent of the total house price.

Speaking at the site in Kivumbini where he handed over keys to new owners of 360 homes, Dr Ruto said the shift in the delivery model for social housing will relieve ordinary Kenyans of the burden of owning a house.

"It also enables us to open up our economy and use housing to drive sustainable development," the president noted.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua urged the president to continue with his agenda of creating employment for the youth through the affordable housing project.

President William Ruto chats with a contractor during the launch of affordable housing project in Uasin Gishu County. [PCS]

"We have matatu owners who have been forced to sell their vehicles to repay bank loans while others are using all their earnings to repay their debts," Kuria further said.

Peter Sagini, a boda boda operator at Kaptembwo, said he and his colleagues had expected the government to come up with favourable terms for the allocation of the house.

A sukuma wiki seller, Selina Oloo, said she earns Sh500 daily and resides in a mud-walled house where she pays Sh1,300 monthly rent.

"The government should not expect us to purchase such houses. If the government wants to help us, let it allocate us those houses and we be paying less than Sh2,000 monthly," Oloo said.

However, Senior Housing Director Richard Tuta defended the project, insisting it will help low-income earners acquire decent homes at the most affordable prices possible.

"Our intention is to make sure that every Kenyan who is paying rent, those living in slums, they too can become homeowners," Tuta said during a site visit at the Bahati sub-county.

Earlier in Naivasha yesterday, President Ruto launched a Sh700 million power sub-station that will serve the Special Economic Zones (SEZ).

Ruto said the investors from Kenya, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, the Netherlands, Japan and Switzerland had already mobilised more than Sh28 billion and created 2,846 jobs in enterprises.

"In this 1,000-acre Naivasha economic zone, youths have earned jobs in bottling, EV cars, logistics, power and energy, steel mill, plant essence extraction and regional car auction," said the president.

Ruto campaigned for SEZ, saying it was a perfect example of the bottom-up economic transformation agenda in action.

The head of state praised the investors and said their decision to bet on Kenya's future was a clear indication that "we have come of age as a compelling investment destination and an economy".

"We are now able to offer investors a globally competitive system of infrastructure, simplified regulatory framework, value chain integration and clustering, greater access to markets and attractive tax incentives," he added.

He noted that Naivasha's SEZ enjoys a low-cost tariff per kilowatt-hour of clean, green geothermal power, full access to operational internal container terminals and a complete water supply.

"SEZ has a 50km network of water supply pipes supported by a 10,000 cubic metre off-site reservoir, a high-quality road network and internet connectivity infrastructure," said Ruto.

He said SEZ had demonstrated its potential to create direct and indirect employment, industrialise Kenya, promote local value addition, integration of value chains and development of sector clusters.

As a result, Ruto said Kenya has been elected to serve on the steering committee of the Africa Economic Zones Organisation.

"Two of our seven special economic zones, Konza Technopolis and Tatu City, have also been nominated as environmental, social and governance models by the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development," said the president.

[Kennedy Gachuhi and Daniel Chege and Steve Mkawale]