NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 19 – The public hearings exercise on the Affordable Housing Bill, 2023, entered the second day with the two teams of legislators conducting the exercise in select counties across the country receiving views from residents in Kisii and Kirinyaga Counties.
In Kisii County, the exercise which was led by the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning Kuria Kimani received representation from residents who called on the government to ensure that the monies contributed under the proposed fund are ringfenced for that purpose and appropriated diligently.
The Kisii County Pastors and Clergy Forum proposed that the government consider halving the contribution to 5 per cent of the total housing unit cost, given the difficult economic times.
The Kisii Micro and Small Entrepreneurship Association called for Jua Kali artisans to be given priority for building works in carpentry, plumbing, metal fabrication, and other related services.
Other suggestions made include the consideration of attendant social amenities, inclusiveness, and consideration of people with disabilities and the proposal to allow pensioners to transfer their lumpsum to the program to acquire the units.
Making his contribution during the hearings, the Kisii University Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Nathan Oyori Ogechi noted that the affordable housing program would help in meeting the shortfall of student accommodation. His sentiments were echoed by the management of Kisii Polytechnic as well as the institution’s student leaders.
“Affordable Housing İnitiative would greatly benefit the University and Kisii town Community, he revealed that the government had commenced plans to construct a unicity with a student Village of 2520 bed spaces as part of phase one of the project,” Prof Ogechi said.
National Assembly Finance and National Planning Committee Chairman Kuria Kimani kicked off the session by clarifying that the ongoing public hearings are not in contravention of a previous court order that had halted any public participation in the form of receipt of memoranda.
“ For avoidance of doubt, the ongoing nationwide public participation exercise which the Housing and Finance Committees started yesterday is therefore in order, and not in contravention of any court order.
The Affordable Housing Bill 2023 has already undergone the First Reading.
The Bill was born out of the need to create a comprehensive framework for the affordable Housing Program following a High Court order that declared the housing levy 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.
