Nairobi — Head of Public Service Felix Koskei says the government is set to put in place policy reforms to accelerate private sector involvement in affordable housing program through tax incentives and exemptions.
Speaking during the National Housing Corporation 70th Anniversary event held in Nairobi on Monday, Koskei reassured government commitment to address the National housing deficit challenge witnessed in the country caused by rapid urbanization by prioritizing on the implementation of the housing project.
"In order to comprehensively address the housing problem, the government is mindful of the critical role played by the private sector and indeed recognizes their massive investments into the real estate sector. Government is committed to putting in place enabling policy reforms including deployment of tax incentives, exemptions as well as lowering financing costs to accelerate private sector involvement," he said.
The Public Service Boss stated that the 2023-2027 Housing Corporation strategic plan will hasten the sector involvement into the Affordable project which aims at striking the balance of more than 500 000 new urban dwellers recorded annually.
He said the project targets to construct affordable housing units for both low and middle income earners to ensure they have access to good quality houses and other social amenities including schools and health facilities.
"The recently enacted Affordable housing Act 2024 marks a significant milestone in our journey of ensuring that every Kenyan has a place to call home. The Act has created the Affordable housing fund designed to finance the construction of affordable units within the country," he said.
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Government has so far launched the project in 39 counties across the country with Nairobi County leading with over 64,000 units under development.
The Project which is one of the major pet projects by the Kenya Kwanza government is being implemented in 223 high priority sites identified by the government for the construction of the affordable housing units.
The government targets to construct over one million housing units annually. Given that Kenya grapples with an annual housing deficit of over 200,000 units, the government is also banking on the support of the private sector to deliver the units.
Players in the private sector have been calling on the government to work with private institutions in the implementation of the Affordable Housing Programme.
They cited that their involvement will work to enhance building standards and streamline building approvals for the project's integrity.
Additionally, they say the housing levy will enable private sector developers to invest in housing due to the availability of the ready market.
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