President William Ruto’s affordable housing programme (AHP) pet project is set for an audit of its economic impact amid missed targets and other teething problems.
The Affordable Housing Board has lined up an audit of the scheme in which independent consultants would review its impact on employment, manufacturing, and the informal sector as well as on skills development and job training.
“The Affordable Housing Board would like to undertake an assessment that will provide a comprehensive analysis of the multiplier effect, social economic outcomes, and ripple effects generated by the programme, including but not limited to job creation, income generation, tax revenue impacts, and effects on local businesses and communities,” the board said in a tender call for a consultancy team.
The AHP has met teething problems including budget cuts and late delivery by contractors—hurting realisation of President Ruto’s much-touted jobs and improved living conditions for millions of poor Kenyans.
For example, delays saw the government push the launch of 4,888 houses under the AHP to May, after failing to meet an initial timeline to open them for entry by low-income Kenyans by the end of March.
The State Department for Housing said that the postponement was caused by a delay in the installation of lifts, but said allocation is ongoing.
“(We are in) final touches, lifts delayed a bit but now installed (affects Mukuru), allocation process ongoing, demand way too high. We aim for April but realistically May is our best bet,” Housing Principal Secretary (PS) Charles Hinga told Business Daily about a fortnight ago.
The Housing Ministry had said the houses- which form the first batch developed under President Ruto’s regime- would be launched in March, as it continued with the construction of about 140,000 houses across the country.
The State had targeted to deliver 200,000 houses annually—meaning that the missed targets pile pressure on it to keep its pledges.
President Ruto last year claimed that the AHP had created 140,000 temporary jobs.
The AHP has also encountered financial challenges amid budget cuts. For example, the State Department for Housing’s development budget for the AHP and slum upgrading initiatives was chopped from Sh85.2 billion to Sh71.6 billion in the current financial year on account of less donor funding received.
“The decrease is mainly on account of rationalisation of the donor component in the Capital expenditures. However, there's an additional personnel emolument of Sh64.5 million to cater for actual salary requirement in the financial year 2024/25 under the Current expenditures,” the Treasury said in its supplementary budget report tabled in Parliament.
The cut also affected the funding for two other programmes by the State Department for Housing, including housing development and metropolitan upgrade.
The biggest chunk was cut from the housing development and human settlement programme whose funding was reduced to Sh3.3 billion, down from Sh11.7 billion.
Since July 2023, Kenyan workers have been deducted 1.5 percent of their salaries after the government introduced the Housing Levy as employers match the tax.
