NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 6 — The National Land Commission (NLC) has admitted gaps in the acquisition of county-owned public land for the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) by the national government.
NLC Chairperson Gershom Otachi admitted a lacuna in law on Tuesday when he appeared a Joint National Assembly Committee on Finance and National Planning, and Housing, Urban Planning and Public Works.
He questioned the practicality of national government developing land owned by sub-national governments yet the housing units are meant to be acquired by private citizens.
“What happens when county development land has been donated for affordable housing when this fund that is being set up is being used by the national government?” Otachi posed.
The NLC Chairperson noted that while President William Ruto’s administration focused on financing, the framework on Affordable Housing omits key questions on land allocation and transfer.
He was responding to concerns by lawmakers on mechanisms for home ownership in instances where public land has been used for development of housing units.
“In a scenario where national government has allocated funds to build properties on county land, how will it be handled because eventually those built houses will be sold out?” Housing Committee Chairperon Johanna Ng’eno posed.
NLC committed to propose a framework to address the gaps between the relationship between the two levels of government to avoid a conflict.
“We are talking about two levels of government; counties have their own structure and they keep asking after they give out their land what do they get. We don’t have obvious answers to the issue,” Otachi told members of the joint committee.
“Counties are conscious that once this project takes off, they will give out the land to construct the houses which will eventually benefit their people,” he explained.
National Housing Corporation
NLC proposed that the National Housing Corporation (NHC) takes over the administration of land acquisitions given their expertise having acquired land in 37 counties and subsequently managed to transfer public land to private property.
“Because we haven’t been told that there is a specific vehicle to proceed with the project, we know NHC which is already established and know how it works given their expertise over the years,” the NLC Chairperson stated.
Otachi’s appearance before the joint committee was part of ongoing validation of the Affordable Housing Bill drafted following a High Court decision declaring the Housing Levy deployed to mobilize funding for AHP unconstitutional.
The Affordable Housing Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 75 of 2023) sponsored by the Leader of the Majority Party, Kimani Ichung’wah, seeks to provide a legal framework for the establishment of the Affordable Housing Fund, access to affordable housing and to give effect to Article 43(1)(b) of the Constitution on the right to accessible and adequate housing.
The Bill further seeks to impose the Affordable Housing Levy to finance the provision of affordable housing and associated social and physical infrastructure.
The joint committee convened despite conservatory orders by High Court in Kisumu suspending public participation on the Bill in the manner prescribed in an advertisement then, until the matter is determined.
The orders were issued after litigants moved to court shortly after the two House Committees, in a notice published in the dailies on December 9, 2023, invited the public and stakeholders to submit memoranda on the Bill.
