Deputy President William Ruto has embarked on a countrywide project to build houses for teachers - and other workers in extension.
Speaking during a rally at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega on Sunday, June 12, the DP directed Kakamega Gubernatorial Aspirant Cleophas Malala to scout for a parcel of land that would accommodate the project in the county.
He promised to build over 10,000 houses in Kakamega County alone with the project expected to be replicated across the country.
According to Ruto, the project will allow middle-class Kenyans to be homeowners after paying a mortgage of Kh8,000 a month for a period of 10 years.
"We have also agreed that home ownership in the republic ownership is no longer going to be a reserve for the few. We are going to work with homeowner developers so that we can structure competitive local houses.
"In Kakamega County, we are planning to build houses. Cleophas Malala, you should start planning where we shall build 10,000 low-cost houses so that teachers and those working who need houses can get the houses at cheaper prices so that a person paying Ksh8,000 as rent should begin paying it as a mortgage. They can own the houses 10 years later," the DP stated.
He further noted that the project will uplift the economy by providing employment for the youth. He estimated that in Kakamega alone, over 40,000 would be hired to help put up the project.
"We shall need 40,000 youth to help us construct the 10,000 houses and provide labour," he explained.
Teachers are at the center of the ongoing campaigns since the Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga, on June 6, vowed to hire over 300,000 tutors should he ascend to power on August 9.
Odinga promised to increase the Ministry of Education budget by up to Ksh200 billion which will also cater for free education from kindergarten to university level.
“This program will be an aggressive scheme to ensure that all, not some of our children, get rightful access to quality education.
"We will deploy motivated teachers to deliver quality education to our children so that there is no child left behind. We shall employ all the qualified teachers who are currently unemployed,” stated Raila in his manifesto.
