President William Ruto In Nyanza

President William Ruto is set to make a two-day tour in the Nyanza region starting tomorrow, Friday, January 13, 2023.

Through a press briefing made by State House spokesperson Hussein Mohamed on Thursday, President Ruto’s tour will be covering the counties of Kisumu, Homa Bay and Siaya.

Spokesperson Mohamed added that Ruto’s itinerary involves the launch and inspection of housing projects in the region, including commissioning the newly completed Homabay Municipal Market and meeting local leaders and residents of the region.

“The President will launch several projects that directly impact the lives of the people and are in line with the government’s bottom-up economic agenda that places a premium on economic transformation, especially for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid,” said Mohamed.

“He will also hold discussions on making interventions in agriculture and infrastructure and preside over the commissioning of the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST).”

The tour which starts in Homa Bay will see President Ruto launch the first phase of the 5,000 affordable housing programme in the county.

“The project will ultimately cover several towns – Oyugis, Kendu Bay, and Mbita,” noted Mohamed adding that the county has set aside 11.6 acres for the project.

“Already 39 counties have identified land on which affordable housing units will be built.”

Spokesperson Mohamed further outlined the progress the housing agenda has made since President Ruto took office, noting that the government targets to build 200,000 units a year.

“Cumulatively the project has an active pipeline of 376 projects set to deliver 599,000 houses across the country,” he said.

“Projects commissioned so far a total of 22,490 units including 13,076 units in Mukuru (Nairobi), 4,000 in Kibera Soweto B (Nairobi) and 5,360 in Mavoko (Machakos).

We also have another 9,935 units that are currently ongoing including 1,500 in Pangani (Nairobi), 605 in Bondeni (Mombasa), 1,850 in Buxston (Mombasa), and another 1,800 in Bachelors Jevanjee estate (Nairobi) and 4,000 Moke Gardens (Machakos).

He went on to add that 37,708 units across the country are ready for launch among them 30,000 in Makongeni, Nairobi.

The affordable housing programme has been a key plank in Ruto’s economic transformational agenda which he proposes will create jobs for thousands of youth and stimulate the economy.