Procurement law hindrance to realisation of low-cost housing

Thirty five legislations, some on procurement, are set to be repealed in the latest move by the government to put on course the plan to realise the affordable housing dream, Principal Secretary Charles Hinga has said.

Addressing stakeholders in the construction industry during the inaugural Construction Industry Awards (COINA) 2018 at Carnivore Restaurant last week, Mr Hinga, the Housing PS, said: “We have procurement processes that don’t make sense”.

“The first thing I did when I got to the office in March was to issue a directive to all the procurement officers in the State department, asking them to explain why they would take more than 45 days to initiate a procurement, evaluate, award and finally contract. I think 45 days is a lot irrespective of the 21-day statutory period that you have to advertise for.”

He intimated that the battle is half won after managing to convince the National Treasury that “we cannot procure houses like we procure stationary”. Mr Hinga said construction of houses is a joint venture between the government and developers and thus it needs to take a different approach.

“I have put together 35 pieces of legislation that we need to change because they are in conflict with our agenda,” the PS said.

"For instance, to get rid of what he called “time wasters, brokers and people who run around his office,” he said the government is putting together a qualification criteria that will see developers deposit 10 per cent of the development cost in an escrow account so that “we are sure we are dealing with only serious developers.”

“We are putting together a joint venture and a comprehensive development framework, which we will publish soon. It is going to meet our constitutional threshold of what is free, fair, transparent, equitable and public good,” said Mr Hinga, adding, “if we don’t fix our procurement, this programme will just remain a beautiful thing on paper.”

AFFORDABLE

National Construction Authority (NCA) through its Executive Director Maurice Aketch said the affordable housing agenda will cover various urban centres across the country and it will incorporate various innovative, cost effective and efficient delivery models.

He invited interested contractors to showcase their innovative building materials and technologies at the NCA offices, saying details of the exhibition can be found on their website.

The awards’ chief judge, Ms Emma Miloyo, who is also the president of the Architectural Association of Kenya hailed contractors for taking a step forward to submit their work, saying usually, it’s the architects who are at the forefront of celebrating buildings.

She also challenged the participants to rise in their areas of influence and help the country achieve the affordable and descent housing dream.

According to a recent World Bank report, out of the 250,000 house units annual demand, developers are only able to put up 50,000 units, but what's even more worrying is that 49,000 of these houses go to upper-middle and high-end segments of the market, leaving the low-income segment seriously under-supplied with only 1,000 units to share.

Tuffsteel Ltd’s Business Development Manager Abigael Jorgensen said as industry leaders, they are committed to setting standards through product innovations and technology that positively impact the growth of the industry.

“Our commitment to quality and innovative products that empower Kenyans are the core pillars that define our success,” she added.

Crown Paints Ltd General Manager for construction Abhijit Roy told DN2 that the conversation on home affordability and the celebration of the achievements made in the idustry may not have come at a better time.

“As stakeholders we are more than excited and willing to support the government in providing affordable housing as this will open up numerous employment opportunities to youth and grow the industry tenfold across the country,” he said.

COINA 2018 was organised by Standout Ventures and sponsored by Tuffsteel Ltd. It will now become an annual affair.

The Contractor of the Year award went to Questworks Ltd while Evisa Construction Company won the Woman Contractor of the Year award.