Vietnamese energy giant Doanh Chau has knocked on Kenya’s doorstep again, this time hitting out at President William Ruto’s Affordable Housing project.
In a long-worded statement released on Tuesday, May 20, Chau criticised the motive of the project, terming it a “long-term burden on Kenyan workers with limited returns”.
“Taxing the employed to fund state-led housing construction is not only economically regressive; it is structurally flawed,” Chau asserted.
While acknowledging it as a bold solution, the mogul still took issue with the structure of public housing schemes, citing the numerous flaws associated with such projects, adding that Kenya was on the same trajectory.
“Public housing schemes, without transparency and strong institutional capacity, often produce substandard results: poor-quality units, misallocation of funds, and socially isolated communities. We've seen this pattern across many countries, and Kenya risks repeating it,” he opined.
Chau contrasted Kenya’s situation with Somalia, highlighting it as a model example of public housing and the role of the private sector in this.
“Through self-organisation, private capital, and diaspora investment, they've built entire neighbourhoods, efficient, affordable, and community-driven, without heavy reliance on state funding,” he expressed.
“Their model proves that when empowered, the private sector and civil society can achieve far more than bloated public programmes,” Chau added.
Consequently, Chau issued five key pointers to latch on to improve the housing sector, even as he maintained that the “role of the government was not to replace but enable the private sector.”
The President of Vietnamese Gas and Energy advised the government to invest in public works – roads, water, sewage, and transit – and create master plans and zoning that serve the public interest.
Also, he advocated for streamlining approvals, ensuring land access, and partnering with credible developers, rather than crowding them out. Finally, he cautioned against higher taxes, stressing the need for better governance.
Chau’s sentiments coincided with the handover ceremony of 1,080 completed housing units at the Mukuru Meteorological Site in Nairobi by Ruto, a major development in the project’s implementation.
During the groundbreaking ceremony held today, Ruto led Mukuru residents in song and dance as he promised that the homes would come with critical infrastructure to ensure a decent standard of living for low-income Kenyans.
With the government targeting over 13,000 units in the Mukuru area upon completion of the project, Ruto described the handing over of the 1080 social housing units as ' the most consequential day in his political career'.
Chau’s latest lecture on Kenya comes after he previously described Ruto as “all talk and no show.”
In a statement released on Friday, April 25, following a meeting with Ruto and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, the CEO diagnosed Kenya's most significant problem regarding underdevelopment as leaders who speak 'big and polished English' but do not execute what they say.
