Local financial mechanisms are used to finance affordable housing programs in Kenya.
Modern.az reports that this was stated by the Kenyan Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Alice Wahome, at a panel session titled "Transformation of informal settlements and slums: housing for the world" within the 13th session of the World Urban Forum held in Baku.
The minister noted that they face various difficulties in the housing sector, including court disputes:
"We face many problems in the housing sector. These include lawsuits filed by the public. But we have already started using special fees paid by Kenyans, and this plays a role as an internal solution in financing."
According to her, this mechanism has created additional financial opportunities for the government:
"Although these funds are not fully sufficient, they allow us to finance approximately one-third of our target of building 200,000 homes per year."
She also stated that the creation of legislative and regulatory frameworks plays an important role in the implementation of the program:
"Thanks to legislative and regulatory mechanisms, we can implement this financial model, and this approach has yielded important results for our affordable housing program."
The minister emphasized that the existing financial model should be supplemented with additional sources:
"Current funding covers approximately one-third of the total need. The other part is provided by land resources. Thus, approximately 50 percent of the projects are transformed into a subsidy-based financing model," A. Wahome noted.
