President William Ruto on Wednesday, June 14, unveiled plans to bring back thousands of Kenyans moving away from the city to satellite towns.
Speaking in Nakuru during the Kenya Urban Forum, Ruto noted that his administration had rolled out incentives through the Affordable Housing Programme to address the issue.
The Head of State expressed concerns over the invasion of agricultural land in Nairobi estate towns by investors setting up their development projects.
The areas Ruto highlighted were Mlolongo and Kitengela, which he stated had experienced a boom in the real estate sector.
He, however, insisted that through his Affordable Housing Programme, house prices in the city were expected to drop to Ksh6 million from Ksh11 million.
"The reason why you find people in Mlolongo and now they have gone beyond Kitengela and are approaching Isinya is because they don't have opportunities. You cannot afford the land in Nairobi.
"We did an analysis and established that, on average, the cheapest house in Nairobi was Ksh11 million. Because of affordable housing, we are bringing it to between Ksh6 million and Ksh1 million. That means the fellow going to Isinya has no reason anymore. So instead of subdividing agricultural land, we create an incentive for people to buy affordable houses," Ruto stated.
The Head of State thus implored the opposition leaders and other stakeholders to support his programme, indicating that it was key to solving the slum problem in Kenya.
Ruto made the sentiments after the Finance Committee Chairperson Kuria Kimani announced that the government had reduced the deduction to 1.5 per cent from 3 per cent.
Kimani told Parliament that the deduction would be converted into a tax, not a levy, as earlier indicated in the Finance Bill 2023.
Concerns Over Becoming a One-Term President
Due to the proposed reductions, Ruto noted that a few allies had approached him warning that it would derail his re-election plan.
The Head of State, however, downplayed the concerns arguing that he was focused on fulfilling his campaign pledges.
"Many people tell me that I should think about the second term. My second term will be meaningless if my first term achieved nothing.
"I am not here so that I can have a second term, I am here because I want to make a difference by removing slums and creating jobs for our young people. The second term will sort itself out," Ruto confidently stated.
