Decades-old tenants of Nairobi County Government houses will not pay to own new housing units under the Nairobi Regeneration and Urban Renewal Programme, Governor Johnson Sakaja has said.
Sakaja, who had appeared before Senate Roads, Transportation, and Housing, explained that the tenants have been paying rent for many years and hence will not be required to go back into their pockets to own the new houses.
"I however want to clarify that these will not be free houses. These tenants have been paying rent for 40 or even 50 years. They have been very loyal tenants, from parents to their children; now they can own the houses," he said.
Sakaja and his Cabinet passed a resolution to give the new houses to tenants paying rent to the defunct Nairobi City Council and then to the Nairobi City County Government.
Nairobi City County Government intends to build Affordable Apartments on the County’s old estates to meet the ever-increasing need for decent housing for all.
The county intends to construct a total of 40,000 housing units in 13 estates.
These estates sit on 4,000 acres of land. Under the project, Bahati estate will set up 9,000 units, Jericho 6,000, Lumumba 4,000, Maringo 4,000, Woodley 3,400, Ziwani 2,500, Embakasi 2,500, Kariobangi North 2,000 and Bondeni will get 700 units among other estates.
The programme is anchored on the Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Master Plan (NIUPLAN), which identified the redevelopment of Eastland.
The plan has received a boost after the county boss said that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) supported the project.
In his submissions to the Karungo Thangwa-led committee, Sakaja said the programme to provide decent houses was on course.
“We have awarded seven contracts and construction is ongoing in some areas. We will then enter into MOUs with the beneficiaries of the programme,” he told lawmakers.
Thang’wa, however, demanded that Sakaja provide his committee, within 14 days, copies of the proposed MOUs with the beneficiaries and a copy of his Cabinet resolution.
Sakaja was also asked to provide the committee with copies of the contracts awarded and the Urban Renewal Plan Report.
According to the project, it will entail 70 percent affordable housing units, which will be sold at a cost of between Sh1.5 million and Sh3.5 million.