NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 20 — A Joint Parliamentary Committee conducting public hearings on the Affordable Housing Bill is set to introduce amendments capping the allocation of housing units to as single home per KRA PIN.
The move is intended to safeguard the Affordable Housing Program from being hijacked to benefit a few individuals, defeating the intended purpose.
Speaking during public hearings held in Homa Bay County on Friday, Molo MP Kuria Kimani who also chairs the House Finance and National Planning, assured residents that the Committee would propose a ‘One Unit; One KRA PIN’ policy.
“The fears that this program might not benefit the intended beneficiaries have been raised in the public hearings that we have held so far. I want to assure you that the Committee will come up with a mechanism to ensure that the program is not hijacked,” Kimani said.
The Affordable Housing Bill 2023 has already undergone the First Reading in the National Assembly.
The Bill was born out of the need to create a comprehensive framework for the affordable Housing Program following a High Court order that declared the Housing Levy unconstitutional.
The Affordable Housing Bill (National Assembly Bill No. 75 of 2023) sponsored by the Leader of the Majority Party, Kimani Ichung’wah, seeks to provide a legal framework for the establishment of the Affordable Housing Fund, access to affordable housing and to give effect to Article 43(1)(b) of the Constitution on the right to accessible and adequate housing.
Harmonized law
A section of Homa Bay County residents had earlier told the Joint Committee sitting on the Affordable Housing Bill, 2023 to cause amendments on the Bill to harmonize it with the provisions of the Housing Act, so as to ensure that the two do not overlap.
Making their contributions to the team, the residents lauded the Affordable Housing programme saying it will address the current challenges facing the housing sector.
Legal practitioners who attended the session also called for an amendment of the Bill to clearly outline roles of the Affordable Housing Board and distinguish them from those of the National Housing Corporation.
“Hon. Chairman, there is need to harmonize this Bill with the current Housing Act so that the two laws do not end up contradicting each other. Where there is need to amend the Housing Act, let us do so, rather than create a provision in the Affordable Housing Bill then end up with conflicting laws,” advocate Joshua Nyamori told Members of the Committee.
They also underscored the need to stagger the terms of the Affordable Housing Board Members to ensure that their terms do not expire at the same.
In their submission, representatives of people with disabilities told the legislators that the board should have a representative from among people with disabilities and that the infrastructure around the housing project is not accessible to them.
While noting that the proposed deposit is way above their means, the participants also called for its review while others proposed that the program be tweaked to provide loans for the development of rural homes.
The House team kicked off the hearings January 17 and are expected to visit 19 counties before presenting their report to the National Assembly when it resumes from the long recess in February.
