The County Affordable Housing Programme and Markets Implementation (CAHPMI) committee has been established in Makueni to spearhead the constituency-based affordable housing projects and markets in the area.
The committee that is under the Bottom-up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA) is supposed to carry out the monumental task of human settlement projects done by the State Department of Housing and Urban Development (SDHUD).
The committee comprises departmental heads from both levels of government, led by the County Commissioner (chair), county director of housing (secretary), director of lands, lands registrar, National Environment Management Authority, and National Land Commission.
Other members include the director of physical planning, the director of the survey, the municipal engineer, Kenya Power, the director of the environment, the National Construction Authority, the National Industrial Training Authority, the County Security Committee, and the director of TVET, among others.
“This programme of affordable housing will create jobs for our unemployed youths in the county. I urge all members to work together to create synergy and ensure we achieve our goal,” Makueni Acting County Commissioner (CC) Moses Gicharu said in his Wote office on Wednesday, where he chaired the first meeting.
The functions of the committee will include identifying and assessing suitable land for AHP and markets, overseeing and coordinating the implementation of AHP and market progress in the county, monitoring and evaluating progress, and conducting regular visits to the site of the projects.
The committee will resolve and provide advisories to address challenges and emerging issues, following and providing project-specific information that will be useful for monitoring reports and decision-making, and coordinating and liaising with various ministries and state agencies on the provision and support of infrastructure and services.
The committee will also fast-track all transactions related to land, including the revision of PDPs, the titling of parcels of land, surveys, and other related issues, besides following statutory approvals at the county level.
The SDHUD will also be constructing markets across the country in all 47 counties, and only one site has been identified in the county for the construction of AHP. The committee will be meeting twice a month.
By Patrick Nyakundi
