President William Ruto has hit back at Nation Media Group for a publication on the progress of his affordable housing projects.
In a statement signed by State House Spokesperson Hussein Mohammed, the president refuted claims that a huge number of the houses are not being purchased.
Ruto has labeled the story mischievous and misleading.
“We take note of a headline story published by the Daily Nation today, August 6th, 2024, titled ‘Puzzle of Ruto Housing Projects,’ which inaccurately suggests there is a low uptake for the Government’s Affordable Housing Program (AHP),
“The story is not only mischievous but also deliberately misleading,” the statement reads in part.
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Ruto Blames Previous Government
The head of state argues that the houses in question, which were flagged by the Auditor General’s audit report, were not constructed during his tenure.
Therefore, he has said that the houses in question are not part of the affordable housing program.
“First, it is worth noting that the reporting in the media is largely anchored on the Auditor General’s audit report that focused on housing projects that were designed and launched well before President Ruto assumed office in September 2022 and are, therefore, not in any way related to the AHP,”
“None of the housing projects listed in the newspaper story fall under the AHP,” indicated the statement.
Additionally, the president argued that the program is designed differently from the previous housing programs, which has allowed the government to record a high uptake.
“Such interventions include access to public land, provision of free last-mile services like sewerage, electricity, water, and internet, and exemption of all construction inputs under AHP from value-added tax (VAT).
“These interventions have enabled the National Housing Corporation (NHC), as one of the implementing agencies of the AHP, to sell units at between Ksh1 to 3 million, compared to the previous high of between Ksh7 and Ksh8 million,” added Hussein.
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Status of Affordable Housing Units Sale According to State House
According to the statement, uptake for the units is actually high with Kenyans in their thousands rushing to purchase the units.
“Contrary to the assertions by the Daily Nation, the uptake for units under AHP is exceptionally high. For example, the Government demolished 39 units of old houses in Park Road, Nairobi, and replaced them with 1,370 affordable units, all of which were sold out within 90 days.
“To illustrate the huge demand for affordable housing, when half of the 1,370 units at Park Road were offered to members of the public, over 33,000 Kenyans paid deposits of at least 10 percent.”
Moreover, state house noted that some people missed out on units despite paying deposits. Those individuals did not demand for their money and were waiting to be allocated new units.
“Most of those who missed out have not asked for a refund of their money and are instead waiting to be allocated other units under the AHP. In a nutshell, we do not have a demand problem for the Affordable Housing Program,” reads the statement in part.
“Suffice it to say that AHP is delivering the much-needed socio-economic transformation in Kenya and shall not be derailed by a few saboteurs and nay-sayers.”
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