BY DICKENS WASONGA

The government plans to spend ksh.2b to construct new houses for its workers this year under the recently introduced civil service housing scheme.

According to the director of housing Mr.Michael Mugwanja,276 units have already been built to house civil servants working in Mavoko area near Athi river while additional 500 houses were near completion in the second phase of the Ngara housing project in Nairobi.

Another 420 houses which are being funded by different public institutions countrywide
was still under construction.

The director made these remarks during a one-day workshop organised by the ministry of housing to discuss the existing incentives created by the government to ensure adequate and affordable housing for the low income earners.

While officially opening the workshop which brought together housing sector players from the region ,the assistant minister in the ministry Mrs. Magaret Wanjiru said the government hopes to help put up 87,000 low cost housing units countrywide through public-private partnership by the year 2030.

The minister said since 2003-2004 a total ksh.20m has been channeled towards the affordable housing projects being implemented by the ministry and it was scaling it upwards annually.

She said to date the government has spent a total ksh.1.1b in the sector and by the end of the year it is estimated that a total 35,000 units will have been built through private and public collaboration.

Wanjiru said about 4m people especially those living in informal settlements currently needs to be housed and the ministry was working towards bridging the shortfall that exists.

The assistant minister also disclosed that a 16% tax relief will be extended to those who want to construct new houses in the lower market areas.

This step, she indicated was taken to reduce the cost of construction which is way up above many developers due to high prices of building materials.

In Nairobi alone the demand for houses is put at 150,annually while about only 50,000 are constructed every year. This leaves a short fall of about 100,000 new houses each year.

The high demand of houses especially in the urban centers has been attributed to the rural-urban migration and unchecked general population growth.

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Date: Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:40:17 -0700 (PDT)
From: Dickens Wasonga
Subject: GOVT WORKING TO ENSURE ADEQUATE AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING TARGET IS MET