Builders want 60pc houses job

Built-environment experts now want 60 percent of contracts for the planned multi-billion shilling Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) reserved for local players.

Citing the Buy Kenyan Build Kenya principle, architects, quantity surveyors, town planners, engineers, landscape architects, environmental design consultants and construction project managers say the inclusion will facilitate creation of homegrown solutions to local problems facing the country.

“It will generate jobs across all levels, create demand for locally built construction materials while generating new value for various professionals in the construction sector,” said AAK president Emma Miloyo.

The demand could upset a spanner in the government Engineer-Procure and Construction (EPC) arrangement that was an incentive to deep-pocketed international players to help Kenya fast-track development of mass housing projects.

AAK end-year memorandum sent to Transport, Urban Development and Housing secretary James Macharia says the government should maintain a “Kenyans for Kenyans” approach in the AHP contracts and that foreign consultants should only be hired where local experts lack such competencies.

The memorandum said a structure guiding the allocation of project value should be developed, allocating local consultants a minimum of 60 percent of consultancy fees, contractors engaged in Joint ventures a minimum of up to 40 percent of project value while manufacturers should be guaranteed up to 50 percent of construction material being sourced locally.

“Joint venture teams must have local consultants and contractors where any perceived technology gaps can be filled by foreign consultancies but only in instances where locals lack such skills,” it said.

The architects said the strategy would enhance local competencies giving Kenya a readily available practical skill development centres, especially graduates from technical and vocational institutions seeking internships.

Currently, companies offering at least 10 internship positions enjoy tax rebates, thereby enhancing employability for Kenyan graduates from universities and tertiary colleges who have in the past been accused of lacking work ethics and lacking needed skills in the workplace.