Experts Make Holes in Uhuru Housing Plan :: Kenya

In summary

• Previous social housing projects in the country either by the state or through partnerships with other organizations
• According to the report, the state must formulate sustainable development budgets to implement the housing agenda. President Uhuru Kenyatta's plan to provide at least 500,000 housing units could benefit a handful of people.

  This is unless the government fully understands and executes the concept of social housing, according to a recent report.

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  The report on the state of housing in Kenya: the government strategy for social housing? – examines the state of social housing in Kenya in the context of the four priorities of the government.

  State dependence on public-private partnerships as a funding model for building units is a major concern, even in the context of previous PPP projects that Have failed to take off.

  "PPPs, if not properly designed, can involve huge risks and costs for the public sector, exacerbate inequalities and reduce equitable access to essential services," says the report. . "The government should rethink its approach to private sector participation in social housing and explore other ways of funding."

  Key voices in the social housing debate argue that there may be alternatives to the proposed funding model that could, over the long term, provide better returns not only to the government but also to the recipients targeted. By subscribing to the SMS service of the standard group. Text the word "NEWS" to 22840.

  "The government may choose to obtain property tax revenues, service fees and user fees, in accordance with human rights standards, from the financing of public banks, to the issuance of public bonds (including county.) public services, "says Pauline Vata, a lawyer specializing in human lights.

  "Social housing needs to focus on broader social issues around housing and livelihoods.The housing deficit in Kenya is mainly felt by the low-income population, therefore The offer by the government must respond to this deficit. "

  According to the report, the government must formulate sustainable development budgets to implement the housing agenda. The necessary reforms should not be limited to the national level but should also target the county level, since housing is a function devolved.

  "Strengthening public finances is necessary at all levels, which must include sufficient financial support, predictable and reliable funding for county governments, to enable them to fulfill their social housing mandates," the report says.

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  Previous social housing projects that were attempted in the country by the government or in partnership with other organizations have failed to take off.

  For example, the Kenya Slum Upgrading Program (KENSUP) which developed social housing in Kibera, the development of World Bank-funded rail relocation, the Mathare 4A Home Ownership Program and 4B led by Catholics and Informal Infrastructure Program (KISIP) have all failed to live up to expectations.

  In Kibera, the first beneficiaries of the program quickly sold the homes to an avid middle clbad and returned to rent housing in slums that should have been demolished.

  The same problem has affected the railway relocation program, which has been tainted by controversies such as the double allocation of units. In Mathare, the project was stalled after a dispute between the Catholic Church, former slum dwellers and the Kenyan government over the adoption of a sustainable property model.

  "The large population of people who do not have a home is one whose income is very low and who can not buy land," said Geoffrey Wachira, General Manager of Courtyard Estate Ltd. .

  And, says Ms. Vata, in the race to implement the Big Four program, lessons from these previous projects that can be used to provide adequate housing with the most cautious model have not been learned.

  Affordable Housing

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  In 2016, the Nairobi County Council released a detailed plan to redevelop at least seven properties in the city for what they were originally designed, with modern recreational facilities . The project aimed to provide affordable and spacious housing with adequate facilities in the former areas of City Council.

  However, a series of disputes between the county and the residents of these areas put the plans on ice. Residents say public participation was not well done, another issue raised by the report, which also states that the redevelopment of the old council houses will not provide social housing.

  It argues that the level of services required for development at height would mean that even if residents were to pay Sh 3,000, the cost of the services would be more than Shsh 10,000, in addition to the maintenance requirements.

  Another start-up problem predicted in the report is the lack of up-to-date leases between county governments and current residents.

  The president of the Kenya Architectural Association, Gad Opiyo, however, said that it was too early to criticize the process of implementing the government's plan to provide affordable housing. "It's still in the planning stage, the scorecard after three years is when we can ask the government what it's done up to now," Opiyo said.

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