Over 13 million Kenyans are unaware of the affordable housing program

This is according to the Kenya Housing Survey from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) which seeks to provide up-to-date statistics on the housing sector to enable informed policy decisions. 

Out of the 28.18 million Kenyans surveyed in the report, 46.4 per cent of the respondents were unaware of the program, with rural residents accounting for the larger share. 

Wajir (95.2 per cent), Lamu (93.5 per cent), Isiolo (92.8 per cent) and Mandera (90.1 per cent) counties had the highest number of respondents who were not aware of the program. 

In contrast, 53.5 per cent of the respondents had adequate information about the housing program including incentives such as affordable housing relief at 15 per cent of gross pay. The amount is capped at Ksh.9,000 monthly and Ksh.108,000 annually. 

Additionally, 95.5 per cent of Kenyans were unaware of the tax deductibility of interest paid on housing loans, while the rest had adequate information about the incentive.

The tax deductibility on housing loans represents a business or an individual's ability to deduct interest paid on loans used in purchasing a house from their taxable income. This lowers the income that is subjected to taxation. 

President Ruto's administration has prioritised the housing program, targeting at least 250,000 houses a year.

Despite facing major court hurdles, the project was finally given a green light by the High Court last year. Through this, the government was allowed to deduct 1.5 per cent of Kenyans' pay, matched by their employers. 

Critics have, however, argued that the project is a money-minting scheme for the rich. 

“We initially believed the President that the project was about job creation, you know, a lot of English and talk,” former DP Rigathi Gachagua said on Monday during the unveiling of DAP Party’s new headquarters in Nairobi.

“Until it came to my attention that it has nothing to do with that; it is a business. If you want to construct the houses, you have to sign a sub-contract from the Housing Principal Secretary with the company to sell you cement, metal and roofing sheets.”

In response, Lands CS Alice Wahome challenged Gachagua to provide evidence of the claims. 

"The procurement is public. So for somebody at the level of a former deputy president, to tell Kenyans that there is somewhere my ministry is sitting behind the scenes and making some illegal contracts," Wahome said in Machakos on Wednesday, January 29. 

"I would want him to tell the EACC where that is and who happens to be there so that then they can help me to deal with that as a corruption issue."