Low-cadre workers included in counties housing scheme

Corporate News

 

Labour secretary Kazungu Kambi when he appeared before the Public Investments Committee at Continental House in Nairobi March 18, 2014. Photo/Evans Habil 

By Neville Otuki

In Summary

• Housing plan targets clerks, secretaries and office assistants and will start in June with the construction of 6,200 houses in Nairobi before spreading to Kisumu, Mombasa and Nyeri counties.
• Houses will be built through public-private partnership (PPP), with the State-owned National Housing Corporation shepherding the deal.

Civil servants in lower job groups in four counties will soon be able to own houses under the government home ownership scheme.

The housing plan targeted at clerks, secretaries and office assistants will start in June with the construction of 6,200 houses in Nairobi before spreading to Kisumu, Mombasa and Nyeri counties.

This represents a departure from the previous scheme that has focused on workers above job group K, normally graduates and long-serving civil servants, due to monthly repayments that match their salaries.

In 2012, the State offered two and three bedroom apartments each valued at Sh3.2 million and Sh4.2 million respectively, which required the civil servants to make a minimum monthly payment of Sh20,247 that locked out those earning less than Sh58,000.

The Lands and Housing Principal Secretary Mariamu El Maawy said the State is turning to building cheaper homes to rope in low cadre civil servants in the housing scheme.

“The public servants will be required to pay between Sh2,000 and Sh4,000 per month before the units are transferred to them,” said Ms El Maawy on Monday while briefing the Press on the achievements and plans of the Housing ministry.

“This means low level workers such as clerks will now be able to own houses in about 15 years.”

This means the government is targeting homes of less than Sh800,000. Under the civil service housing scheme, workers pay a deposit of 10 per cent and monthly repayments over a period of 18 years or until they retire at 60 years, or whichever comes first.

Ms El Maawy said the houses will be built through public-private partnership (PPP), with the State-owned National Housing Corporation shepherding the deal.


Under PPP, the state uses part private capital to fund and speedily complete mega-infrastructure projects.

The Housing ministry plans to build 300,000 units across the country under the PPP model, but it did not offer timelines.\

The scheme is aimed at offering civil servants good living condition in a market where home prices and rents have sky-rocketed, denying low income earners decent accommodation. It’s also meant to attract and retain talent in the civil service.

CfC Stanbic say property prices have risen 3.5 times over the past decade.