The government is planning to set aside some Affordable Housing Programme units for elderly parents of Kenyans living abroad.
Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga said the plan is aimed at helping Kenyans in the diaspora who are worried about the welfare of their ageing parents back home.
Speaking during a meeting with Kenyans in New York on Tuesday, September 22, Hinga said the proposed housing projects would come with services such as healthcare.
He said the idea came from concerns raised by Kenyans living abroad, many of whom continue to support their parents while working outside the country.
“Last time, you asked that your biggest challenge as a diaspora is that you want to take care of your parents back home. Some of them have become old, and you want them to live in settlements where there is better health care,” Hinga said.
The PS said the government was looking at housing developments where elderly people could have easier access to medical services and other basic facilities.
“So we want to start putting up homes under our affordable housing program where you can even have nurses, doctors and all those other things so that now you can be able to put your parents,” he added.
Under the proposal, Kenyans living abroad would have an option of securing homes for their parents while they continue working and living in other countries.
The plan forms part of the government’s wider Affordable Housing Programme, which Hinga said is intended to provide housing for Kenyans in different income groups.
However, the proposal comes at a time when a number of government housing projects are facing funding challenges.
A report by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) showed that more than 176 projects had stalled due to delays in paying contractors.
The projects include 16 affordable housing projects, 22 social housing and slum upgrading projects, 91 institutional and student housing projects and 47 social and physical infrastructure projects.
The stalled projects account for about 15 per cent of the projects that were under construction, according to the report.
The funding gap has emerged despite the government collecting Sh205.7 billion through the housing levy since it was introduced in 2023.
The pace at which the funds are being converted into completed housing projects has also attracted attention.
Meanwhile, the government is reviewing the prices of Affordable Housing Programme units, with new prices expected to be announced on October 1.
The proposed housing for elderly parents would therefore come as the government continues to expand the programme while also dealing with funding and implementation challenges.
