President William Ruto will on Friday, January 13, 2023, begin a two-day working tour of the Nyanza region, covering Kisumu, Homa Bay and Siaya counties.
According to State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed, President Ruto will launch several projects that directly impact on the lives of the people and are in line with the government’s bottom-up economic agenda that places premium on economic transformation, especially for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid.
“Tomorrow, the President will launch the first phase of the 5,000 affordable housing programme for Homa Bay County. The project is expected to not only alleviate the housing deficit the county, but also significantly boost the local economy. The project will ultimately cover several towns – Oyugis, Kendu Bay and Mbita,” Mohamed said.
He will also hold discussions on making interventions in agriculture and infrastructure and preside over the commissioning of the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST).
“It is also important to mention the role of the counties in the housing agenda. Homa Bay was the first devolved county government to sign the Affordable Housing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in April 2018. The county has set aside 11.6 acres for the affordable housing project. This support is critical to achieving the President’s Housing agenda to house our citizens in dignity. Already, 39 counties have identified land on which affordable houses will be built.”
Mohamed further outlined the progress the housing agenda has made since President Ruto took office, noting that the government targets to build 200,000 units a year.
“Cumulatively the project has an active pipeline of 376 projects set to deliver 599,000 houses across the country,” he said.
“Projects commissioned so far a total of 22,490 units including 13,076 units in Mukuru (Nairobi), 4,000 in Kibera Soweto B (Nairobi) and 5,360 in Mavoko (Machakos).
We also have another 9,935 units that are currently ongoing including 1,500 in Pangani (Nairobi), 605 in Bondeni (Mombasa), 1,850 in Buxston (Mombasa), and another 1,800 in Bachelors Jevanjee estate (Nairobi) and 4,000 Moke Gardens (Machakos).
He went on to add that 37,708 units across the country are ready for launch among them 30,000 in Makongeni, Nairobi.
The affordable housing programme has been a key plank in Ruto’s economic transformational agenda which he proposes will create jobs for thousands of youth and stimulate the economy.
The President will also meet local leaders and residents of the region.
