Experts want plans for affordable housing moved from the boardrooms to the people

You may be forced to hold on for longer to benefit from the affordable housing programme championed by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government.

Bottlenecks in policy as well as the lack of involvement of the private sector may put the ambitious plans on ice.

A 2017 World Bank report says Kenya needs at least two million low-income homes to be able to realise economic growth. The government plans to build 1,000,000 homes by 2022, 800,000 of which will be affordable homes while 200,000 will be social housing.

Developers now say for the President’s dream to be realised, a lot more planning needs to be done and the housing conversation needs to move from the boardrooms to the intended beneficiaries, not only in Nairobi, but in other county headquarters that suffer housing challenges similar to those experienced in the capital.

Statistics from the Mombasa County Government show that currently, demand for housing in the city stands at 150,000 units per year against an annual supply of 4,000. County Secretary Francis Thoya said the local administration will start construction of its affordable units in April, but was in talks with the national government over its grand housing plan.

Ambitious project

“We are in talks to synergise the efforts because affordable houses may stop the mushrooming of informal settlement in the city,” said Thoya.

Mombasa plans to re-develop all its 11 estates in an ambitious Sh300 billion housing project that will see the construction of 30,000 housing units to resettle people currently living there.

“The ground breaking will be in April at Mzizima area,” said Thoya.

The estates earmarked for modernisation are Khadija, Miritini Greenfields, Shimo La Greenfields, Kaa Chonjo, Changamwe, Tudor, Buxton, Mzizima, Tom Mboya, Likoni and Nyerere.

“Ideally social housing from government perspective refers to one or two-roomed accommodation in slums or old council estates. There is no clear definition on the same,” Pauline Vata, executive director of the Social and Economics Rights Centre said.

Before such projects kick off, Ms Vata said, a lot more public participation needs to be done for the intended beneficiaries to fully grasp the scope of the projects.

Although a noble cause, it should be noted that Uhuru’s housing plan is not the first attempt Kenya has had at solving the housing problem. Previous attempts have fallen way short of the intended purpose.

“We have seen many housing projects meant for the urban poor end up with the wrong beneficiaries, thus exacerbating already existing inequality gaps,” Vata says. “For social housing projects to thrive, they must promote meaningful engagement and use of data to ensure the most vulnerable and those genuinely in need are the real beneficiaries.”

Kibera’s Slum Upgrading Project became infamous after the intended beneficiaries sold off their units before going back to the houses they were being resettled from. Decades ago, the Mathare 4A project, championed by the Catholic Church, ran into headwinds when ownership disputes arose after the completion of the first phase.

Developers say one of the major challenges with past projects was a lack of a reliable data management system that accurately shows the number of beneficiaries and available units, as well as their location.

Good idea

For instance, a study conducted in 2014 showed that Mombasa has 75 slum settlements, some of them located within the island and along the shores of the Indian Ocean and has a housing deficit of 150,000, yet it remains unclear how many of the units proposed by government will benefit the residents.

“It is a good idea (state funded affordable housing) but it should be fashioned as a PPP,” said Benedict Mutuku, chief executive officer of Goldwyne Consults.

Dr Mutuku said the project was shrouded in uncertainty as local developers have not been involved or consulted.

Another danger also exists.

If not well executed, the project may lead to the creation of another problem by promoting forced evictions - the permanent or temporary removal of individuals, families or communities from the homes they occupy against their will.

“Clear mechanisms on resettlement before project implementation must be adhered to to prevent this from happening,”

Vata says. “Social housing must also not be narrowly interpreted to mean the end product, it must encourage and facilitate community participation in the building process.”

This, she says, will considerably reduce the cost of owning a house for low income earners.

Shadrack Malusha, a Mombasa based developer, says that although the government’s idea was good, its implementation has not been without flaw. “It is a good stop gap measure but in the long run, the government should work on a formula to bring down the cost of building materials ,” said Mr Malusha.