The number of completed units under the State’s affordable housing programme since September 2022 is unclear amid clashing tallies by President William Ruto and the giant Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK).
In his State of the Nation address on on November 21, 2024, President Ruto claimed that 4,888 units constructed under the scheme were complete and ready for sale.
“After two years of hard work under the affordable housing programme, I am proud to announce the launch of the sale of 4,888 housing units now in completion, across 21 social housing projects,” he said in an address to Parliament.
“These units…are tailored to meet the needs of our people, offering 1,041 social housing units, 2,133 affordable housing units and 1,714 affordable middle-class housing units in 24 counties,” the President added.
A latest update report by AAK, however, shows that only 1,189 houses have been constructed and completed in more than two years since the Kenya Kwanza administration took office.
“Since taking office in September 2022, the current administration has completed 1,189 affordable housing units,” the lobby said in its 2024 Status of the Built Environment Report published in December.
“As of October 2024, 91,882 units were still under development. Additionally, the State Department of Housing and Urban Development plans to construct 40,299 social housing units along the Nairobi River,” it added.
AAK said the active projects pipeline as at November 2024 includes, 59,693 units launched under Dr Ruto’s regime from September to July 2024 and planned 556,964 houses under the affordable housing programme.
Others are 5,510 legacy affordable houses constructed between 2018 and 2022 during the previous administration, bringing the total active pipeline to 730,062 units under the programme.
The affordable housing programme—one of President Ruto’s flagship projects— seeks to plug the housing deficit in the country, which stands at 200,000 houses annually.
But there are also fears that it could be counterproductive should the government fail to meet its target of 250,000 houses annually, given that private sector investment is slowing down.
Under the affordable housing programme, the government intends to make serviced land available to private developers through a public-private partnership (PPP) to support large-scale delivery of affordable homes, according to a paper by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis.
The government is also expected to provide infrastructure such as water, sewerage, access roads and electricity to attract the private sector.
