Govt's Plan For Kenyans To Own A House On Their First Job- PS Hinga

Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary (PS) Charles Hinga reiterated his push to have Kenyans take advantage of the government's affordable housing plan to own homes, giving a breakdown of how those starting on their first job can own a house.

Hinga held a press briefing alongside State House Spokesperson, Hussein Mohamed at State House in Nairobi on Wednesday, May 24, with the PS facing an aerial bombardment of questions from journalists regarding the Housing Fund.

He responded to burning concerns regarding the government's push for Kenyans to own affordable houses, with some cornering the President William Ruto-led government for selling the Housing Fund idea yet they own or are already paying for their own houses.

PS Hinga gave an example of parents who have sons and daughters who are young adults and still living with them as they cannot afford the rent to live on their own due to the exorbitant rent prices, especially in densely-populated residences in Nairobi and its satellite towns.

"For even the people making a lot of noise because there are and some of them have draining issues, they say 'Why are you talking to me about a house, I already own one or I'm already paying for one?' Assuming those are parents and those parents perhaps are still living with their kids, grown-up kids who are 27-28 years.

"Why? Because what is the alternative rental market out there? How much can that young man or young lady who is just starting life, how much can they pay? If there is no affordable rental, they end up in Pipeline...or Zimmerman. So they opt to stay with their children at home," he revealed.

PS Hinga argued that if the parents contribute three per cent of their monthly basic salary to the affordable housing plan, they are able to get a house for their child so that their child, on their part, will not have to worry about house-hunting across the city after earning their first salary.

"To them, I'm telling them, that money that they are contributing, you can confer it to your child, even the child who is like my first-born daughter turned 15 last week, I can confer that benefit to her so that by the time she gets to 18, she can have a unit.

"Can you imagine that your parents, the first thing as you got into the job market, they gave you a unit? That is how we are able to do it on this particular programme," he stated.

The PS however gave a key rule in the Housing Fund plan; that only one Kenyan with an ID can own one house, alleviating scenarios where Kenyans decide to purchase several houses, leading to a shortage of housing units.

"The rules of this National Sacco are one ID, one house, you cannot buy more than one unit, so even plans for buying 100 houses...you cannot," he added.

The proposal to have a mandatory contribution to the levy has attracted mixed reactions from Kenyans, with some saying the plan is unachievable. A lot of Kenyans have been doing their calculations saying it might take years for contributors to raise the Ksh3,000,000 estimated to cost a house under the programme.

PS Hinga demystified fears of the three per cent contributions being a tax, reiterating earlier sentiments that the Housing Fund's contribution is akin to a national Sacco.

Furthermore, Kenyans are at liberty to choose where they want to own a home, with PS Hinga noting that priority will be given to first-time owners and that those who will retire in due course will have their money back.

"The house fund contribution is not a tax but a saving; it confers an individual a direct right to either get an affordable unit or, after seven years, if you don’t want it, we give you back your money plus your return," he noted.

He however did not deviate from explaining why the housing levy is a mandatory contribution.

"The housing levy should be driven by law and not voluntary because if it is driven by law, we can call investors because there’s an assurance of collecting money even after 3 years, so long as the law is there," he noted.

Speaking during a Service at Isiolo Boys High School on Sunday, May 21, President Ruto answered the contentious question many Kenyans have been asking regarding the levy; why the contribution will be mandatory even for Kenyans who are not interested in owning homes through the affordable housing program?

The Head of State argued that the program would result in the creation of 1 million jobs a year in the construction industry, meaning it will be up to Kenyans to address the high rate of unemployment.