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{
    "id": 776281,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/776281/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 204,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. (Dr.) Oundo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13331,
        "legal_name": "Wilberforce Ojiambo Oundo",
        "slug": "wilberforce-ojiambo-oundo-2"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to support the Motion for adoption of this Policy Paper. As I do so, I take this opportunity to congratulate my colleagues who have been appointed to the PSC. I wish them well and hope that they will take good care of us. I also wish to take exception to the remarks made by the Member for Kikuyu. I must say that I sympathise with him. He went to school. Some of us went to an educational centre called Starehe Boys Centre and School, and we are extremely proud about it. I speak again on this Motion, having an interest in the matter. I have been in this field as a practitioner and lecturer at the University of Nairobi. I must commend the State Department of Housing and Urban Development for having taken time to align the 2004 Housing Policy to the new constitutional dispensation. I also thank them for reviewing the Housing Policy of 2004 in order to align it to the realities of modern day life. For many years, we have depended on Sessional Paper No.5/1966/67 to fix the housing problem. The Housing Strategy Paper of 2000 could not help us solve the housing problem. I must mention that housing is a basic human right. I appreciate the Constitution of Kenya, Article 43(b), which has made housing one of the socioeconomic rights of every Kenyan. It states that every person has a right to accessible and adequate housing and to reasonable standards of sanitation. The issue of inadequate housing is not just a housing problem; it is a complex problem that requires a multi-sectoral approach to address. I appreciate that we have passed many policies over the years that, together, ought to solve the housing problem in this country. The Land Policy, the Urban Development Policy, the Land Use Policy, and various policies related to the housing sector or built environment, will go a long way to solve this problem. Probably at the top of the problem in this country lie three diverse but interconnected issues. This has been captured in the definition of housing in the Policy. Firstly, a house is as good as the infrastructure provided to it. That is why the UN Habitat has been very categorical and clear in the definition of housing. When you talk about expensive or unaffordable housing, in a way, we are looking at the cost of producing that housing unit, the cost of maintaining it and the element of housing finance. Therefore, I urge those in charge of the housing docket to partner with the county governments to ensure that the necessary infrastructure is provided to enable urban dwellers access decent housing at an affordable price. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposes only. Acertified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}