Murang'a deputy governor challenges Ruto's housing-for-jobs case

Murang'a Deputy Governor Stephen Munania has challenged President William Ruto's reliance on affordable housing to address unemployment, arguing that Kenya needs more industries and value addition to create sustainable jobs. His remarks came on Tuesday, a day after Ruto defended the housing programme during visits to projects in Nyamira and Kisii counties.

Ruto has repeatedly presented the initiative as a major employment creator, saying it had generated more than 1.1 million jobs across the country. Munania argued that constructing houses alone cannot provide consistent opportunities. "You cannot create consistent employment through housing. If you want to create employment, build industries and bring value addition," he said, criticising the administration for what he described as insufficient commitment to an industrial development policy.

On Monday, Ruto said the Affordable Housing Programme would help protect agricultural land from further subdivision, particularly in densely populated areas such as Nyamira County. He inspected the 760-unit Manga Affordable Housing Project in Kitutu Masaba Constituency, Nyamira, and expressed satisfaction with progress on the Ogembo Affordable Housing Project in Bomachoge Chache Constituency, Kisii, where the KSh616 million scheme was 50% complete.

The President said his administration is investing KSh22 billion in Kisii County to deliver 15,000 affordable housing units, 22 modern markets and student hostels for university, technical college and Kenya Medical Training College students, maintaining that the investments would provide decent homes, create employment and safeguard food security.

The exchange highlights the fault line in Kenya's housing debate, where the programme is promoted both as a supply-side answer to the housing deficit and as a jobs engine, while critics argue that construction employment is temporary and that manufacturing and value addition offer more durable work.