- Governor Jonathan Bii’s administration has met requirements in terms of housing lands and settlement for elevation of Eldoret town to city status.
- In Trans Nzoia, the county has entered a deal with NHC to repossess houses occupied by illegal tenants.
The rapid population growth is piling pressure on demand for affordable housing as counties woo investors in real estate to leverage on the benefits of urbanisation.
The devolved units are offering land in a public-private partnership deal as residents neighbouring urban areas translate agricultural land to commercial purposes and affordable housing units to accommodate the rural-urban migration.
Statistics from the National Council for Population and Development indicates that the country’s population has been on the upward trajectory from 5.4 million people in 1948 to 38.5 million in 2009, and is projected to 63.9 million by 2030 pushing high the demand for housing units.
“The urban population increased at a rate of 8.3 per cent between 1999 and 2009, from a proportion of 5.3 per cent of urbanisation to 31.3 per cent in 2009. The government has therefore developed a legal framework to guide the housing sector and create an enabling environment for the effective working of the private sector,” says the 2018/2019 annual NCPD report.
According to the report, although Kenya was urbanising rapidly, it was still under-urbanised and can leverage the benefits of urbanisation and attain its goal of becoming an upper middle-income country by 2030.
“The rapid growth of the urban population is the direct result of a shift in the balance between the urban and rural economics resulting in youth moving to urban areas in search of employment. These high levels of urbanisation create the need for appropriate national urbanisation to be implemented especially in housing and associated social services,” added the report.
Uasin Gishu county that inherited several housing units from the defunct local authorities, has surrendered land in two of its estates—Bondeni and Kapsuswa—to National Housing Corporation to construct a multi-million affordable housing project.
“We are pumping about Sh160 million for 18 units each of one bed-roomed houses and Sh240-250 million for 100 units for two bed-roomed houses,” said Yusuf Chanzu, the NHC chairman.
The units will be sold out to potential buyers under the mortgage scheme, offering opportunity to Uasin Gishu residents to own homes.
Interviewed residents said the county was committed to resolving the housing crisis, informal settlements and land ownership disputes.
“The partnership between the county and private sector to build affordable homes will resolve the housing crisis while meditating to resolve land disputes like in the case between squatters and the department of defence at the Recruits Training School,” said Joshua Koech from Kamagut.
Governor Jonathan Bii’s administration has met requirements in terms of housing lands and settlement for elevation of Eldoret town to city status.
In Trans Nzoia, the county has entered a deal with NHC to repossess houses occupied by illegal tenants.
It is also fast-tracking the process of issuing title deeds to land owners in various settlement schemes.
County Executive in charge of Lands Physical Planning and Urban Development Jane Mutama said they were in the process of settling squatters.
But the residents want the county to partner with the National Lands Commission to resolve long standing land disputes.
The residents are also benefiting from Natecare medical programme to access affordable health services.
In Nandi county, Governor Stephen Sang’s administration plans to build 10,000 houses in partnership with NHC to benefit middle and low-level earners.
The county is putting up a Sh500 million industrial park in the Chemase area, launched by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua late last year.
The NCPD has consequently collaborated with Kenya population-based HIV Impact Assessment to evaluate the impact of HIV treatment at a population level to attain quality livelihood.
It is offering strategic and technical assistance to measure the number of new infections and prevalence of HIV viral load suppression.