President William Ruto has defended his administration’s Affordable Housing Programme, describing it as a transformative initiative that has evolved from a campaign pledge into what he termed a “national empowerment engine.”
Speaking during his State of the Nation Address, President Ruto said initial skepticism about the programme has given way to rising public demand as Kenyans increasingly seek access to the new units being rolled out across the country.
“Three years ago, when we said we would deliver affordable housing, the cynical dismissed it. They said it was fantasy,” Ruto said.
“Today, those doubts have given way to a very different question from Kenyans everywhere: How do I own one of these units?”
According to the president, the government is currently implementing the most extensive housing rollout in the country’s history, with 230,000 affordable homes under development.
He said the programme has also expanded to meet students’ accommodation needs, with 178,000 university, TVET and KMTC hostel beds packaged under the initiative, 74,000 of which are already under construction.
Ruto noted that the education sector had long suffered from inadequate student housing, with fewer than 10 percent of learners previously accessing decent accommodation. The new beds, he said, will help close that gap.
The president also highlighted ongoing construction of 270 modern markets nationwide, designed to support women traders and small enterprises, with an additional 175 markets in the pipeline.
“These markets are expanding the backbone of local commerce,” he said.
Ruto further pointed to the Nairobi River Regeneration Programme, where 44,000 young people are engaged in restoring the river corridor and preparing sites for 10,000 social housing units planned along the rehabilitated riverfront.
Overall, the Affordable Housing Programme — including hostels and markets — has created more than 428,000 jobs across the value chain.
Ruto said the initiative has absorbed architects, engineers, plumbers, masons, electricians, steel workers, transporters and thousands of MSMEs involved in fittings, fabrication and interior design.
At its peak next year, he projected the programme will employ at least one million Kenyans.
“This programme is far more than housing,” he said.
“It is creating jobs, formalizing the informal sector, revitalizing MSMEs, restoring our environment and building resilient communities.”
Ruto framed the initiative as one anchored in constitutional values.
“It advances equity, dignity and sustainable development — the very values set out in Article 10 of our Constitution,” he said.
