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Affordable housing wins big in 2024/25 Budget with 916 per cent increase in allocation

President William Ruto inspects the Nyongores Affordable Housing Project in Bomet County on March 16, 2024. (Photo: PCS)

By Lucy Mumbi and Alfred Onyango | Thursday, June 13, 2024

The government has also allocated Sh15 billion for social housing units and Sh14.7 billion for social and physical infrastructure.

The National Treasury plans to spend Sh32.5 billion on the construction of affordable houses in the coming Financial Year starting July 1.

The allocation is a 915.6 per cent increase from the previous Year's allocation and is arguably the largest allocation increase among sectors the government is strongly pointing its antennae amid the push for the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).

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The segment, which falls under the general housing and settlement sector, was allocated Sh3.2 billion in the previous year.

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u has proposed an allocation of Sh67.4 billion for affordable and social housing and the development of social physical infrastructure.

While presenting the budget in Parliament on Thursday, Ndung’u said the government aims to facilitate the delivery of 200,000 houses annually and support low-cost housing mortgages.

“The government’s commitment is to turn the housing challenge into an economic opportunity to create quality jobs for the youth directly in the construction sector and indirectly through the production of building products,” he said.

Of the total allocation, Sh32.5 billion has been earmarked for constructing Affordable Housing Units.

An additional Sh11.3 billion has been designated for the Kenya Informal Settlement Improvement Project-Phase II.

The government has also allocated Sh15 billion for social housing units and Sh14.7 billion for social and physical infrastructure.

Other significant allocations include Sh1.1 billion for market construction, Sh1 billion for building housing units for the National Police and Kenya Prisons, and Sh876 million for the maintenance of government pool houses.

Sh496 million has also been budgeted for the construction of footbridges and Sh444 million for constructing county headquarters.

Ndung’u said the affordable housing programme which has already employed over 130,000 Kenyans, underscores the government's strategy to use housing development as a catalyst for economic growth and job creation.

In the 2023-24 budget, the government allocated Sh35.2 billion towards the Housing programme. Sh3.2 billion was set aside to go towards the affordable housing programme.

The allocation was in line with President William Ruto's plans to deliver 200,000 affordable housing units annually to Kenyans.

As of March 2023, 46,027 affordable housing units were under construction. The units were in nine sites which cumulatively created 43,000 direct opportunities for the youths.

The first project which was launched by President Ruto in October 2022 was Kibra's Soweto B which was his first visit after winning the presidential elections.

Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga said Soweto B is the biggest social housing project undertaken in an informal settlement.

The project was part of the planned upgrade of the slum which was divided into four zones and is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Housing.