Housing ministry lands grabbed, says Shitanda

By Ally Jamah

The Ministry of Housing has raised alarm over widespread grabbing of its prime parcels of land by well-connected individuals.

Housing Minister Soita Shitanda said the development of new houses is difficult since much time is spent battling grabbers in court.

"According to our records, we have many prime plots but whenever we move in to develop them, we find that some private individuals already have title deeds. It is very frustrating," he said.

The minister was speaking on Tuesday after laying the foundation stone for a Sh816 million housing project in Kileleshwa, Nairobi, by the National Housing Corporation in partnership with a Chinese company.

He cited a case of a high-value plot in Mlolongo, on the outskirts of Nairobi, which was grabbed mysteriously.

"We had 250 acres of land in Mlolongo but when I checked our records recently I was shocked to see that it been reduced to only 50 acres. This is unacceptable," he said.

Shitanda lamented that the well-connected grabbers hide their identities.

"We will investigate the identities of these grabbers with the help of the Ministry of Lands to regain our land and continue building houses for Kenyans," he said.

Incidentally, the Ministry’s project to redevelop houses in Shauri Moyo in Nairobi’s Eastlands area is locked in a legal tussle with individuals who claim to own the land.

High demand

These reports of grabbing come as the Ministry struggles to meet the huge demand for houses in the country. Currently, Kenya is able to supply only 20,000 units of houses each year against the demand of 150,000.

In Nairobi alone, at least 60 per cent of the four million city residents live in informal settlements.

The Chairman of The National Housing Corporation Bosire Ogero said they are running short of land to roll out new housing projects due to grabbing.

Nairobi PC James Waweru urged the ministry to help reduce the huge cost of houses in the market to allow ordinary Kenyans to also own them.

The Managing Director of Erdermann Properties John Yang advised the Government to seek funding from the international markets to meet the huge demand for houses.