The Affordable Housing Project in Kenya

In Nairobi, tenants in six housing projects in Eastlands (Jogoo Road Phases I & II, Jamaa, Mbotela, Ahero, and Mawenzi Gardens) have been given until April 30, 2024, to vacate their homes after settling outstanding bills. In Trans Nzoia County, over 5,000 residents are facing forced eviction from Kenyan prison land to make way for an indefinite housing project. Furthermore, in Eldoret, thousands of families are being forced to vacate their properties for similar projects. However, there have been assurances that some tenants will not be evicted during construction. Tackling Kenya's housing crisis is not just about constructing buildings, but also about ensuring access to simple, equitable, resilient, and people-centered cities. It certainly means that the dream of a decent home is not a luxury, but a human right. Rents and property prices are currently exploding month after month. As a result, the number of affordable housing units in Kenya has declined rapidly. Millions of Kenyans spend most nights in slums because they cannot afford better housing. Urbanization is an integral part of a country's economic development. Kenya is currently experiencing high growth in many respects. The urban population is growing rapidly. However, safe, clean, adequate, and affordable housing is growing significantly faster than economic development. Although numerous initiatives such as the Big Four Agenda have developed various solutions, the situation remains precarious. For many Kenyans, access to adequate and affordable housing remains a major challenge. The housing crisis has been exacerbated by the increasing rural exodus. The 2010 Kenyan Constitution sought to reverse this by devolving government responsibilities such as housing and health to the 47 semi-autonomous governments. Rural exodus continues amid widespread poverty, wealth inequality, and the precariousness of jobs and social services in rural areas. Rural exodus not only strains the limited public infrastructure in urban centers but also leads to a crisis, as demand for housing exceeds available supply, leading to the proliferation of informal settlements. Sixty percent of Nairobi's residents live in informal settlements. This situation is further exacerbated by an inefficient mortgage industry, population growth, inflation currently at 5 percent, steadily rising construction costs, declining household incomes, rising urban land prices, corruption, and other factors. Kenya has a cumulative housing deficit of 2,000,000 units. This deficit is growing by over 200,000 units annually. While annual demand is 250,000 units, annual supply is less than 50,000 units. Against this backdrop, current President William Ruto pushed forward his government's pet project, the Affordable Housing Scheme. It was touted as a program that would solve Kenya's housing crisis while creating jobs for approximately one million people annually. The project was implemented despite opposition from workers whose wages were forcibly cut by 3%, from economists who question the program's objectives and practicality, and from civil society organizations that continue to question its legitimacy. Despite breaking laws and ignoring court orders under the guise of providing decent and affordable housing for low-income earners, the Kenyan government continues to carry out forced evictions and demolitions in informal settlements home to Nairobi's most vulnerable populations. This is done without offering alternative settlements or adequate compensation for the relocation. These demolitions and forced evictions, carried out at night and without prior notice, have resulted in several deaths and massive property destruction. The government claims that the demolitions and forced e victions are aimed at displacing people from riverside areas and potential flood zones. After destroying their homes, the government continues to persecute them in the markets where they earn their daily income. The latest victims are the Gikomba market traders, whose stalls and shops were destroyed on May 23, 2024.

Even those who have spoken out against these forced evictions are brutally silenced. On May 8, the National Police raided the Mathare Social Justice Centre and the offices of the Ghetto Foundation and arrested 27 human rights defenders for holding meetings to discuss issues related to government negligence and the forced eviction of poor families in the area, which affected 40,000 households. A survey of 65 respondents on the affordable housing initiative found that 76.9% of 26- to 40-year-olds were interested in affordable housing. However, 47.7% found the apartments unaffordable enough, and only 26.2% considered them affordable. Another important initiative is the Youth Initiative to protect youth in informal settlements, but this initiative has been met with skepticism regarding its long-term impact. A survey on the housing tax also found that 69% of Kenyans oppose it. The Kenyan government has a duty to protect and uphold the rights of its citizens, especially poor urban residents who are vulnerable to crises, including the impacts of climate change. For example, from March to May, Nairobi experienced severe flooding, resulting in massive property damage, the loss of over 220 lives, and the displacement of over 210,000 people. This underscores the urgency of climate-resilient communities. In this context, social movements and civil society organizations, including IBON Africa, continue to emphasize the need for solidarity with the affected communities and the 27 human rights defenders and their families who have experienced state repression. Civil society organizations are also calling on the Kenyan government to account for its reprehensible actions against its citizens. For Kenyans to truly move toward a future where safe, secure, and affordable housing is a right, the government must develop housing policies that make housing truly affordable and accessible to low-income individuals and communities in Kenya. At the macro level, the government must truly prioritize the needs of its citizens and address the impacts of the current neoliberal system, which continues to promote the privatization of public services such as water and housing, depress workers' wages, and deny them social protection benefits. video https://youtu.be/G_FY_3BET7I?si=y052NP8ZEgWw4CFF Bibliography  https://iboninternational.org/2024/06/11/affordable-housing-for-whom-on-recent-urban-poor-evictions-and-the-housing-crisis-in-kenya/ https://www.haofinder.com/blog/5-challenges-facing-affordable-housing-in-kenya