NAIROBI, Kenya — Okiya Omtatah Okoiti has sharply criticised the government’s Affordable Housing Programme, describing unoccupied housing units in Nandi County as evidence of misplaced national priorities and failed public policy.
In a strongly worded statement published Friday, the Busia Senator argued that billions of shillings allocated to affordable housing should instead be redirected toward improving Kenya’s struggling public education system.
“This is a monument to policy failure,” Omtatah said.
“The people of Nandi will not leave their farms to become hermits in tenth-floor bedsitters. The serenity of Nandi, the land of champions, cannot be traded for concrete caves that nobody wants to inhabit.”
His remarks followed reports that the government-built Boma Yangu Estate in Kapsabet remains almost entirely unoccupied four months after completion.
The estate comprises 220 housing units spread across nine apartment blocks, including studio apartments, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units.
Reports indicated that only one unit had reportedly been occupied, allegedly by marathon world record holder Sabastian Sawe after returning to Kenya.
The project forms part of the national Affordable Housing Programme being implemented under President William Ruto’s administration.
Omtatah questioned the viability of high-rise apartment living in largely rural counties where many residents already own land and prefer standalone homes.
“The project seems to be a white elephant already because tell me, who will live in these concrete caves except maybe migrant workers?” he posed.
The senator further criticised the government’s budgetary priorities, noting that the State Department for Housing had reported a 96.3 P.c budget absorption rate despite concerns over occupancy and demand.
According to Omtatah, the government has mobilised more than Sh518 billion for the housing programme, collected over Sh110 billion through the Housing Levy, and allocated an additional Sh50.6 billion in the upcoming fiscal year.
He contrasted those figures with what he described as a deepening crisis in Kenya’s public education sector.
“While billions sit idle in unoccupied apartments, Kenya’s 24,566 public primary schools across 47 counties are falling apart,” he said.
The senator cited government data showing a Sh117 billion funding shortfall in education over the last four years, including a Sh14 billion deficit affecting primary schools.
He argued that many schools continue to struggle with overcrowded classrooms, poor sanitation and inadequate learning materials despite the implementation of the Competency-Based Curriculum.
Omtatah also referenced remarks by CS Julius Ogamba before Parliament in which the Education Cabinet Secretary reportedly acknowledged that the government does not have a precise figure for the cost of educating a child.
“This is not governance. This is abdication,” Omtatah said.
The senator proposed redirecting housing funds toward school infrastructure, arguing that the Sh518 billion already mobilised could upgrade thousands of public schools nationwide.
“If the government redirected the money toward school infrastructure at the current NG-CDF construction rate, we could immediately upgrade over 9,600 schools,” he said.
