Fallacy about Jubilee and Nasa housing promises

Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) Secretary General Stephen Mutoro

Both Jubilee and National Super Alliance (NASA) have promised to build 500,000 houses in the country in the next five years to address the biting shortage of decent housing.

In its manifesto, President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee says it will open up the housing market to ensure that more Kenyans can own their own homes.

Jubilee also promises to establish a National Social Housing Development Fund and create alternative financing strategies to finance low-cost housing.

NASA on the other hand has said Nairobi and Mombasa are developing into urban jungles and the former is now regularly ranked among the five worst cities in the world in terms of traffic congestion.

The Opposition has promised to fast-track the implementation of Nairobi Mass Transit Project while pursuing other short term interventions.

Stephen Mutoro, the secretary general of Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations (Kara), noted that more needs to be done to solve the current housing crisis.

Housing experts, however, say even if a few builders were to deliver 5,000 to 10,000 units annually in large-scale projects, they would still be addressing only a part of the 200,000 units needed in Nairobi alone.

They urge the Government to use industrial methods to produce more than 100,000 houses. [Protus Onyango]