How the Government can Align AHP to Global Best Practices

In December 2024, @arch_ke released its annual Status of the Built Environment report (Access the report here: https://shorturl.at/AiKFF) highlighting key trends in the construction sector in the last year. Kenya faces a substantial housing deficit of approximately 2 million units, with an annual demand of 250,000 houses per year. Article 43 (1)(b) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, guarantees the right to accessible and adequate housing as one of the fundamental economic and social rights applicable to every Kenyan. In light of this, previous administrations began developing affordable housing units to provide decent housing for low and middle-income earners.

The current administration also adopted the programme as one of its key deliverables under the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) and had a total project pipeline of 730,062 units as of November 2024. @arch_ke runs the Mulika Mjengo Initiative which advocates for the promotion of safe building practices in the industry. In addition, the programme provides an anonymous platform for reporting unsafe construction by developers.

Unfortunately, studies show that approximately 80% of developments are done without involving duly registered professionals. However, it is commendable that the AHP has to date engaged over 300 professionals through 33 consortia to oversee housing design, project management and the sale of housing units. Furthermore, @arch_ke in partnership with the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) and the Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya (IQSK) established the AHP Forum as a platform intended to enhance the collaboration of consultants with the government in the provision of professional services for AHP. The forum aims to enhance the quality of housing delivery, optimize time, and cost efficiency and align with global best practices.

To enhance the quality of housing and deliver on AHP’s intended objectives, the government can benchmark on successful AHP initiatives globally, such as Egypt’s Housing for All Egyptian’s programme which has improved Egyptian’s access to mortgages through subsidized mortgage rates. Since its inception in 2014, the initiative serves approximately 2.5 million citizens2. The government of Kenya can adopt a similar holistic approach that includes long-term planning and subsidized loans to encourage increased homeownership.

Established in 2009, the Minha Casa Minha Vida (MCMV) programme is renown for having delivered 4.5 million housing units to Brazil’s population while boosting the local economy through job creation3. The programme also targeted both rural and urban populations, promoting inclusivity in accessibility to affordable housing units. However, one of its shortcomings was the programme’s isolation as housing-only projects3. Kenya can learn from this by equipping of affordable housing units with access to fundamental and basic services such as transport, education, health, and social services.

In conclusion, the government needs to priotitize strengthening public-private partnerships, promote accessibility to financing options, focus on mixed-use developments, and enhance community involvement in the programme. By learning from successes of global initiatives and adopting and contextualizing strategies to suit our context, Kenya can build an inclusive and sustainable Affordable Housing Programme.