Ruto tracks progress on housing project and Ambitious plans to eradicate slums

By Robert Mutasi 

President William Ruto presided over and reaffirmed his administration's commitment to ensuring a slum-free country in general, and in Kibra specifically, through the Affordable Housing Programme.

The Head of State announced the near completion of the first 4,000 housing units while speaking when he inspected the Kibra Soweto East Affordable Housing Project.

These units constitute the planned upscaling of informal settlements across the country, in which Kibera stands as the epicenter for housing.

President Ruto urged improved living standards for all Kenyans, reasoning that the Affordable Housing Program is not only constructing homes but ensuring decent quality of life among citizens in their own country. 

He added that upgrading the living conditions with necessary social amenities along with housing will boost the lives of people who hitherto have spent their lives in slums.

He boldly forecast that slums in cities and towns would be a thing of the past in the next 15 years, marking a new frontier in urban development.

The Kibra housing project is one of the biggest pieces of the jigsaw in the President's larger vision for affordable housing across the country.

Currently, Phase II, comprising an additional 15,000 units, is set to start before the close of 2024, while Phase III, comprising 20,000 units, will kick off at the start of 2025.

President Ruto said such a project had the transformative power to give thousands of families an opportunity for home ownership, provide jobs for the youth, and spur economic growth.

The units will also house those displaced from riparian areas following the recent El Niño rains, with another 40,000 units in the pipeline.

Among notable political bigwigs accompanying and touring the projects were Lands and Housing Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, and Lang'ata MP Felix Odiwuor.

The Kibra project is only the beginning, as there are currently 110,000 units in the pipeline nationwide.

Upgrading informal settlements into thriving communities with dependable infrastructure and services to raise the quality of life for millions of Kenyans is one of the crowning projects of the president's administration, as its war against urban poverty rages on.