For President Ruto's government, it has to be housing, not ownership

President William Ruto during the Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary group meeting in Naivasha on September 16, 2022. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Rather than be lulled into complacency by the government's perpetual announcements and re-announcements on housing - the sort that gets lots of attention but gets us nowhere near where we need to be - we need to rethink housing in Kenya. It is not far-fetched to say that it is well beyond time to rethink the housing question and commit to doing what it takes to achieve housing for all. The new administration, like its predecessor, must not conflate the right to housing with the right to ownership. When considering housing as a right, Article 43, 1(b) of our Constitution: "Every person has a right to accessible and adequate housing, and to a reasonable standard of sanitation", we have to be specific: housing, not ownership. Government honchos in developing countries, including ours, incessantly conflate homeownership and the human right to adequate shelter. What is this fetish for homeownership?