The government has deferred launch of 4,888 houses under the affordable housing programme (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 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 Charles Hinga said.
The Ministry of Lands and Housing had promised that the houses- the first batch under President William Ruto’s regime- would be launched in March, as it continued with the construction of about 140,000 houses across the country. Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome in February said the plan was to launch about 5,000 houses under the program quarterly.
“I will be releasing 4,888 (houses) by the end of March and every quarter I will possibly be releasing between 4,000 and 5,000. In the next year, I should have close to 140,000 houses,” Ms Wahome said.
CS Alice Wahome: I will be releasing 4,888 units by the end of March
This puts the government under pressure to deliver houses under the programme as per its promise, to deliver at least 200,000 houses annually.
In February, the National Treasury said that 124,000 houses were at different stages of construction.
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.
Much of the money deducted from workers has, however, been invested in Treasury papers as the government struggles with the absorption of the funds in the programme.
As of December 2024, Sh46 billion out of the Sh88.7 billion housing levy deductions had been invested in Treasury bills.
