City assembly wants 20 per cent of Urban houses in Sh300b project to go to staff

County staff should be allowed to buy at least 20 per cent of houses being constructed under the Sh300 billion project in Nairobi, MCAs have said.

The houses will be constructed under the urban housing development project funded by the county and national governments.

Under the programme, old houses in some estates will be renovated while others demolished and new ones constructed.

The contractors will then hand over the finished houses to the two levels of government before they are sold. The current occupants of these houses will be given priority to own them.

The assembly’s planning and housing committee also wants consideration given to city residents to buy the modern low-cost houses after county workers have been sorted. 

The project will start this year with the first phase.

Guide sharing

The proposal is contained in the committee’s policy report tabled in the House last week to guide sharing out of the houses once they are complete.

“The county government’s housing department should be given powers to set aside at least 20 per cent of the houses so they can be bought by county staff who qualify to own them,” reads the report in part.

In the report, the team says those buying the houses should be barred from selling them within five years after acquisition.

“The county government should also manage its projects so they are not absorbed in the national government programme. There should also be mechanisms to ensure finished houses are sold to targeted persons, especially those with an income of Sh150,000 and below,” says the report.

At the same time, details have emerged on how regeneration of the seven city estates will be carried out as the ground-breaking draws closer.

According to the report, six companies have been awarded tenders to construct hundreds of affordable houses in Nairobi as part of the project.

They are Technofin Kenya, Green Ederman Property, Green Prestik Limited, Jabavu Village Limited, Stanlib Kenya and Directline Assurance Limited.

Estates targeted for regeneration are Old Ngara, New Ngara, Jeevanjee, Suna Road, Ngong Road Phase I and II, Bachelors Quarters and Pangani Estate.

Stanlib will build 1, 2 and 3 bed-room houses at Uhuru (Green Garden) Estate. It will be required to come up with 1, 890 housing units on the 7.5 acres. City Hall will get a 20 per cent markup on the selling price and 400 units.

Directline will build 585 houses and 3,000 market stalls on Suna Road. Its contract shows the county government will add a markup of 20 per cent on the price the developer will quote.

Jabavu is expected to put up 1,546 housing units at Jeevanjee/Bachelors quarters with at least 60 per cent of the houses expected to be for low income earners.

Further states

The Urban Housing Renewal and Regeneration Policy further states the firms should complete their projects within three years.

Ground-breaking for the project has been postponed sever times. The launch was to happen in Pangani Estate in September before City Hall called it off.

Lands and Urban Planning Executive Charles Kerich has said the project has delayed because some of the targeted estates are along flight paths.