𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬, 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬
The National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Housing, Urban Planning, and Public Works, led by Hon. Johana Ngeno (Emurua Dikirr), has wrapped up its series of hearings where State departments presented their perspectives on various housing and infrastructure projects across the country.
The consultative sessions, which commenced on Monday and concluded today, saw Principals Secretaries (PS)Charles Hinga (Housing and Urban Development ) and Joel Arumonyang (Public Works) , and other key stakeholders in the sector appear before the House team, where they addressed a range of questions.
The inquiries posed to the PSs and other officials stemmed from the insights gathered by MPs during a recent visit to affordable housing projects within the Nairobi Metropolitan region.
This included projects in Parkroad, Shauri Moyo, Starehe, and Mavoko. In addition, the MPs also conducted on-site assessments at Gikomba and Githurai markets.
On Monday PS Hinga was quizzed about a decision by the Department to adjust the construction cost of the new Githurai market in Kiambu, increasing it by almost Kshs.200 million. This alteration raised concerns, given that the project cost shifted from the initial Kshs.827.170 million to Jshs.1.026 billion.
PS Hinga clarified that these changes were imperative for improving the project’s functionality, structural soundness, and visual appeal.
Notably, the project, which commenced in October 2019, was officially inaugurated by President William Ruto on August 5.
During Tuesday’s session, PS Joel Arumonyang highlighted a pressing issue in his presentation to the MPs.
He lamented the acute shortage of technical staff within his department, emphasizing that this scarcity has hindered the fulfillment of their responsibilities.
“Despite the significant workload, our department currently operates with fewer than 400 technical staff. The limited number of architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, and other professionals has impeded our capacity to deliver effective services.”
Hon. Ngeno directed PS Arumonyang to furnish a comprehensive report outlining the staffing needs of the institution, along with any additional support required to meet their mandate.
During his appearance before the Committee today, David Mathu Njuguna, the Managing Director of the National Housing Corporation (NHC), appealed to MPs for increased empowerment of the statutory body.
He advocated for an expanded role, transforming the NHC from merely implementing the Government’s Housing Policies and Programs to becoming the sole executing entity for these initiatives.
“If we are empowered and strengthened, with our own fund and allocation, similar to the Kenya Roads Board, our work will become significantly more manageable, ” suggested the NHC MD.
Hon. Ngeno urged the NHC boss to draft a detailed proposal outlining this potential expansion of role and specifying any supplementary support necessary to successfully fulfill the extended mandate.
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