President William Ruto on Thursday afternoon presided over the ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the Lapfund Bellevue Park Residence in Nairobi.

This is in line with the government’s plan to ensure affordable and decent housing for Kenyans.

Under the National Development Plan Vision 2030, the government had targeted to provide 200,000 housing units annually for all income levels.

With only 50,000 new housing units supplied every year, Kenya faces a shortage of about two million housing units.

Most of the housing units are built by the private sector, with 80 per cent targeting the high-end market and only two per cent for the middle-income population.

However, the Kenya Kwanza government wants to change this trend where President William Ruto plans to deliver 250,000 affordable housing units annually to Kenyans.

The Finance Bill 2023-24 proposes a three per cent deduction of basic salary to go towards the National Housing Development Fund, with the employer expected to match the contribution.

Ruto jetted back into the country in the morning after the conclusion of his five-day foreign tour to Europe.

Several leaders spoke during the launch, applauding the head of state while at the same time offering support for the affordable housing project

Langa’ata Member of Parliament Phelix Odiwuor took the opportunity at the event to ask those who lost during the August 9, 2022 elections to accept defeat.

“Na pia nimeona rafiki yangu Yuko hapa. Korir na pia Tunafanya na yeye kazi mzuri sana. Huyu tulishindana na yeye akakubali . Wengine pia wakubali kuwa mambo ya siasa iliisha Sasa tuko ndani ya kazi saa hii. Mheshimiwa Rais tuko hapa na Mps tuko hapa tutasimama na wewe na tutafanya kazi pamoja mungu akubariki. Asante sana.” (“I competed against Nixon Korir in Langa’ata and he accepted that I defeated him, those who were defeated should also accept defeat and move on,”) he said. 

Speaking during the ground-breaking ceremony of Bellevue Park in South C attended by President William Ruto and other leaders, the MP recounted how his opponent in the MP contest accepted defeat.

There has been political bad blood between Jalang’o and ODM after he attended a meeting hosted by Ruto at State House, Nairobi in February.

He defended the decision saying he was following up on the affordable housing project in his constituency.

Jalang’o was among 9 MPs from the Orange Democratic Movement who were invited to State House for the breakfast meeting.

Speaking after the early morning session, the Lang’ata lawmaker divulged that he pushed for the development of his constituency and priority projects the government should embark on.

“Today we had breakfast with the president. I followed up on the start date of the construction of affordable housing in Highrise Ward and the completion of the Langata TVET.

“The project is on and the contractor is on the ground, an extra Sh50 million has been located for the completion of the TVET,” Jalang’o said.

Other ODM legislators who were at the meeting included Tom Ojienda (Kisumu), Shakeel Shabir (Kisumu Town East), Caroli Omondi (Suba South), Elisha Odhiambo (Gem), Gideon Ochanda (Bondo), and Mark Nyamita (Uriri).

In a statement, President Ruto said leaders must join hands, foster coexistence and work together in confronting the challenges facing our country.

“They must endeavour to lead by example and serve the interest of the people. This is a sure route to a more united and developed Kenya,” he stated.

Political pundits have claimed that President Ruto is wooing ODM legislators to his side even as party leader Raila Odinga claims he does not recognise the current government.

In his most recent public rally, the former Prime Minister said that the Kenya Kwanza administration should resign as it is a product of electoral fraud, noting that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission subverted the will of the people.

He also scoffed at Ruto for targeting the Kenyatta family, accusing him of doublespeak on matters of taxation, claiming that the real tax cheats and lords of corruption are in government.

The head of state also recently met another group of opposition MPs from the Jubilee Party, a constituent party of the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance.

The meeting, which was attended by MPs Sabina Chege, Kanini Kega, David Kiaraho, Irene Njoki, Zachary Kwenya, Shadrack Mwiti, Mark Mwenje, Amos Mwago, Daniel Karitho, Stanley Muthama, and Joseph Githuku, focused on the importance of building a bigger and better team that can work together to effectively prosecute the agenda of the people of Kenya.

In his remarks, President Ruto emphasized the need for unity and inclusivity in order to move the country forward.