Kisumu Senator, Tom Ojienda on Thursday explained why he threw his weight behind the revised iteration of the Affordable Housing Bill, despite coming from a region where leaders vehemently opposed it.
The lawmaker, while justifying his decision, pointed out that Affordable Housing was a key component of his party leader Raila Odinga's manifesto.
“My party has a framework in the ODM manifesto, Affordable Housing is one of the pillars and you know very well that the party leader spoke well about the project,” explained Ojienda.
He also added that his support for the project was based on the availability of jobs for people from his county which will be guaranteed by the law.
According to Ojienda, every Kenyan can apply to receive a house with the government having confirmed that issuance will be on a first come first serve basis.
He also clarified that the government was working to ensure that each county had an Affordable Housing project constructed.
Moreover, Ojienda added that within some counties such as Homabay and Nairobi some projects were almost complete.
His argument also centred around explaining that the project would seek to revitalise the estates in the country which had been run down.
However, ODM and the Azimio Coalition at large both opposed the bill before it was passed noting that it will impose a heavy tax burden on Kenyans.
In the buildup to the 2022 presidential election, Azimio's manifesto showed that Raila, had he been elected President intended to establish a Housing Fund that would support County Governments in the development of the projects.
The coalition also aimed to exempt construction materials from Value added Tax (VAT), a policy, the coalition hoped would lower the cost of construction in the country.
Ojienda is one of the ODM rebels who were expelled from the party for aligning themselves with President William Ruto before they were saved by the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal.
