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{
    "id": 1130316,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1130316/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 155,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "s",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Hon. Speakers, enabling Kenyans to have decent and affordable homes has been one of the pillars of the Big Four Agenda. The Affordable Housing Programme has been, over the last four years, my keen intention. We have had problems in passing legislation before this House, but I can happily say that despite this, we have seen an increase in private investment in the housing sector amounting to some Kshs2.12 trillion. Those investments have yielded over 186,000 housing units, a remarkable 43 per cent increase of housing units compared to the years 2013 to 2017. The general prices of houses have decreased slightly and we must continue to see what it is that we can do together to increase the amount available in terms of affordable housing. This will, therefore, result in many more Kenyans being able to enjoy the dignity and pride that comes with owning a home. To institutionalise this Affordable Housing Programme into prosperity and in partnership with some of our development partners, we have also established the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC). This financing powerhouse provides long-term, large scale funding to banks and Saccos which in turn avails those funds to home buyers at flexible and affordable interest rates of below 10 per cent. Therefore, the dream of owning a home today is a greater possibility to many more of our fellow citizens than it was four years ago. However, here, there is much more that we can do. Hon. Speakers, food security is another key pillar of the Big Four Agenda and to ensure significant improvement in farm productivity and by enhancing the quality of farm inputs and reducing reliance on rain-fed agriculture, in the last year, we have seen the prices of maize meal retailing between Kshs95 and Kshs105. However, despite a bumper crop in some parts of our country due to the poor performance of the short rains in 2020 and the long rains this year, parts of our country have suffered severe drought situations. As a result, 2.1 million of our fellow citizens are food insecure. The recurrence of drought is a phenomenon that successive administrations have grappled with little success. Even though we have made progress in the mitigation of drought, the progress has not been fast enough. So, as part of our state response, we launched an elaborate framework for ending drought emergencies in Kenya. The framework focused on investing in interventions that will build the resilience of all vulnerable households to drought. This included over Kshs25 billion investments in the foundations of development such as sustainable peace building, conflict management, water harvesting and supply, road construction and improvement, education and training, health and nutrition services."
}