About 300 Mukuru residents who missed out on affordable housing units despite applying for them are set to get another chance to secure homes under a fresh allocation plan.
The announcement was made by Affordable Housing Board Chief Executive Officer Joe Mutugu during a meeting with residents on Wednesday, September 2, as anger over the allocation of the houses continued to grow.
Mutugu said some genuine residents of Mukuru had applied for the units but were unsuccessful because the number of applicants was higher than the available houses.
He said the Board had identified about 300 such residents and would give them priority once their details are verified.
“There are others who are genuine residents of Mukuru. They applied but because of high demand they were not successful. I am told they are about 300. All of them, we will make sure they get their houses,” Mutugu said.
The announcement comes after some Mukuru residents raised complaints over the allocation process. Some said they had paid deposits for the houses, only to later receive messages indicating that the units were already sold out.
The complaints led to protests in the settlement, with residents demanding an explanation on how the units were allocated and why some applicants were left out after making payments.
164 Residents Also Identified
The Affordable Housing Board has also identified 164 people who were enumerated before construction of the Mukuru housing project began.
According to Mutugu, these residents had been expected to benefit from the project but had not received houses.
The Board plans to accommodate the 164 residents by reclassifying some of the affordable housing units as social housing.
The same arrangement will be used to accommodate the additional 300 genuine Mukuru residents once their details have been confirmed.
The Board has been carrying out verification following the complaints raised by residents over the allocation process.
The State Department for Housing and Urban Development said the allegations were being checked and that applicants affected by the allocation problems would be identified.
The fresh allocation plan is expected to calm tensions in Mukuru, where residents have been waiting for answers over the housing units and the deposits they paid.
