President William Ruto said the government will keep using a revolving fund to finance affordable housing until every Kenyan can access a home.
Speaking during the Broad-Based Government PG meeting on Monday, August 10, Ruto defended the plan to develop and sell affordable houses on public land. He said the revenue generated from completed projects gets reinvested to build more housing units.
Ruto said, “Some people are asking why we are selling houses built on government land to citizens using resources raised by the people of Kenya.”
He added, “It is because the resources are put together by Kenyans using the housing levy, and the land does not belong to one person. It belongs to all Kenyans.”
Ruto further explained that buyers must pay for the houses because the proceeds support the revolving fund, which then finances additional construction.
“So when you buy, you have to pay because we need the money to do the revolving fund until every other citizen has gotten a house; then that is when we will stop,” the president said.
He added that the arrangement will remain in place as long as the country faces a serious shortage of housing. Ruto noted that Kenya currently has a deficit of nearly 2.5 million housing units.
“But until and unless each and every one of us has got a house, we will continue the revolving fund because in any case, we have a shortage of close to two and a half million houses, and that shortage is growing,” he said.
The housing levy has drawn criticism from parts of the public, including concerns about the extra deductions taken from employees’ earnings and questions over whether contributors will ultimately benefit from the Affordable Housing Programme.
Ruto also defended the government’s use of public land, whether managed by the national or county administrations, for affordable housing projects. He said the two levels of government have coordinated to identify land for the developments.
He argued that such land remains held in trust for Kenyans and should serve productive purposes that benefit the public, including by enabling the construction of affordable homes.
“Whatever land, be it by county or national, is held in trust by those governments for the people. So if the people benefit from that piece of land, what is the problem?” he said.
Ruto added that existing laws provide clear mechanisms for allocating public land for development projects, including housing, as long as the government follows the required legal procedures.
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