Statehouse Chief of Staff, Nzioka Waita, has admitted that the Jubilee government's Big 4 Agenda promise on affordable housing will be impossible to meet by the end of President Kenyatta's tenure.
Speaking during an interview on KTN News on December 13, Nzioka stated that the requisite infrastructure needed to actualize the project was the main hindrance to the delivery of the ambitious project.
However, he added that the president had made tremendous efforts to address the hindrances, affirming that the project's progress will be flawless in the future.
"The Housing Agenda is on track. It will not be completed as defined by the end of the president's term, but he has put in place irreversible measures that can only take the country forward," stated Nzioka.
In what he termed as key enablers, Nzioka stated that the government had tackled issues to do with Information Technology and requisite automation, security of the country and also a conducive governance atmosphere.
He also noted that the Big 4 plan was not to be implemented in full at a go, as it was part of Vision 2030, which was to be achieved in several Medium Term Plans (MTP). Thus, the affordable housing plan fell on the Third medium-term plan schedule for 2018 to 2022, succeeding the second medium-term plan that run from 2012 to 2017 as set by former President Mwai Kibaki.
The President's right-hand man also reiterated that the Head of State was intolerant to corruption, as most people alleged, stating that he had parted ways with all the Cabinet Secretaries implicated in corruption scandals.
He renewed the executive's blame on the judiciary, stating that all government agencies had done due diligence in fighting the vice, but prosecution files were lying on the judiciary's shelves unattended.
The affordable housing project is among the 4 major agendas that the Jubilee government promised Kenyans while seeking votes in the 2017 general elections.
One of such projects initiated since then is the Pangani low-cost housing project, a 17-storey building looking to avail 1,562 housing units by the end of 2022.
Upon its completion, the project will avail 610 three-bedroom duplexes, 576 three-bedroom units and 248 two-bedroom houses into the housing market.
Other components of the big 4 agenda include food security, Manufacturing as well as universal and affordable healthcare, all of which are yet to be achieved with less than 10 months remaining in the president's 10-year tenure.
