Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga Mwaura on Friday, February 7, rubbished an article by The Standard newspaper indicating that the government was in the process of selling low-cost housing units only to civil servants.
In the article published on Friday, February 7, the media outlet wrote that the affordable housing projects under construction in Nairobi, Kiambu, Embu and Kisumu would mostly benefit government employees, dimming the hopes of many ordinary Kenyans.
The PS took to Twitter, terming the article as unnecessarily sensational and only intended to attract a readership while potraying the government in bad light.
“Totally sensational headlines published without context but I guess that’s what sells newspapers. First, this was an internal memo.
“The listed housing schemes are exclusively for civil servants,” wrote PS Hinga.
The PS further accused the newspaper of failing to get the correct information about the project, explaining that civil servants were only entitled to 40 per cent of the low-cost units.
“For Park Road, it’s land belonging to civil servants, they’ve provided the funding to start the AHP. What is lost in this noisy newspaper headline is that the public is getting 60 per cent of all the housing units.
“Those who are paying will be homeowners and you’ll still be tweeting negativity,” added the government official.
The Standard had earlier indicated that the PS wrote a circular to all civil servants instructing them to show expression of interest for the houses by April 28.
In the letter sent to ministries and other offices, the government listed over 1,000 units that are currently being developed in Nairobi, Kiambu, Embu and Kisumu counties which are available to civil servants.
The housing department also stated that the mentioned housing units would be completed before the end of the year 2020.
In December 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta moved assured Kenyans of the government’s efforts to ensure the project was well executed as part of the Big 4 Agenda.
Kenyatta also announced that the government would allocate 1,370 units of the first flagship project at Park Road in Nairobi County.
The president further stated that other projects in Shauri Moyo and Starehe would be launched in early 2020, promising another 8,000 housing units.
“These projects are part of the larger Eastlands Urban Renewal master plan, which will bring online an additional 168,000 units. By replacing the decaying and dilapidated colonial-era units, we will be able to generate modern 177,000 units from the existing 43,000 units,” remarked Kenyatta.
The president also assured that the resettlement of Kibera Zone B residents was also in the government’s plan to ensure the slum dwellers also get good houses.
