Principal Secretary in the Department of Housing and Urban Planning Charles Hinga has flagged an advert claiming that the government was hiring over 15,000 people as fake.
Hinga was responding to an advert that surfaced on social media inviting applications for the purported jobs.
The fake advert claimed that the Department of Housing was poised to hire Kenyans from across the 47 counties to facilitate the development of 250,000 units.
In particular, the notice listed jobs including masons, carpenters, plumbers, and record keepers as some of the opportunities up for grabs under the Affordable Housing program.
However, one X user who had come across the advert tagged the State Department seeking a clarification of whether it was genuine.
In response, both the department and PS Hinga labeled it as fake to distance themselves from the job invitation.
“AHP (Affordable Housing Program) is calling upon qualified Kenyans to apply for the following positions,” the advert read in part.
“The advert below has nothing to do with the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) whatsoever,” a statement from the Housing Department read.
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The source and the motive of the advert was not yet established by press time.
Increasing Cases of Extortionists Targeting Jobseekers
Nonetheless, cases where extortionists target unsuspecting job seekers in the country are not new.
In the past, people masquerading as hiring agencies or companies invited applications and thereafter proceeded to extort money from them.
In reaction to such plots, various government agencies have repeatedly warned Kenyans against trusting information not published through their official websites or social media handles.
Whilst the Housing Department had in the past promised jobs in the implementation of the housing program, no invitations for such a mass hiring exercise were issued.
In a presser issued in August, State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohamed revealed that the government was eying over 600,000 jobs in the housing project.
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Hussein noted that the government had set a target of delivering over 200,000 every year in one of Kenya Kwanza’s flagship projects.
So far, the government has initiated construction of over 36,000 units across the country with the promise of delivering decent housing and at the same time solving the problem of unemployment for many.
While launching housing projects in various parts of Kenya, President William Ruto has consistently affirmed that job opportunities emerging from the housing project will target locals.
