The Government will invest an additional Ksh7.5 billion to build 3,000 housing units in Lamu County under the Affordable Housing Programme in readiness for the development of the Dangote East Africa Refinery, President William Ruto has announced.
The President said the move is intended to meet the anticipated demand in housing as the county prepares for an influx of workers and visitors as the Ksh2.2 trillion refinery enters the construction stage.
“As a contribution by the Government of Kenya, we are allocating Ksh7.5 billion to build an 3,000 housing units as we develop the refinery in Lamu County so that those who will live here have decent dwellings,” he said at Mokowe when he issued title deeds to residents of the county on Saturday.
He pointed out that the new investment is additional to the ongoing affordable housing projects in the county, including modern markets and student hostels at a total cost of Ksh6 billion.
He urged the private sector to invest in complementary facilities and services, including shops, hotels, accommodation facilities, transport, and other opportunities that will arise around the project.
Further, President Ruto announced that a standing committee, comprising officials from the National Government and Lamu County will be formed to address concerns raised by residents regarding the project and ensure that their interests are taken care of.
The President assured residents of Lamu that they will be fully involved in all decisions regarding the development of the refinery project.
“I want to assure you that this project will benefit the people of Lamu first. This county, which has been overlooked for many years, will now be at the centre of our country’s development,” he stated.
He cautioned residents to be wary of political operatives who have developed “emergency love” for the people of Lamu, sponsoring frivolous court cases aimed at frustrating the refinery project and delaying its benefits to the people.
President Ruto issued title deeds to residents of Ashuwei, Mvundeni, Rubu, Mwambore and Simambae community lands as well as the Shanga/Ishakani, Muhamarani, Kauthara and Hindi Magogoni settlement schemes, among others.
He urged residents to be vigilant against conmen, saying they should not be misled to pay fees for the title deeds.
“We have used Government money to process the title deeds because we wanted to correct historical land injustices the people of this region have suffered since Independence,” he explained.
The President, who has been on a week-long tour of development projects in the Coast counties of Taita-Taveta, Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, Tana River and Lamu, said he would return to the region before the end of the year to issue an additional 200,000 title deeds.
This week alone, the President has given out 300,000 title deeds across the six counties.
“There is no region in this country that is too small or insignificant to merit equitable development and attention from the National Government,” he said.
He pointed out that upon assuming office in 2022, he directed that the 150km Lamu-Garissa road, which had been earmarked for construction as a murram road, be upgraded to a tarmac road.
He urged residents of Lamu to continue living together in unity and to reject ethnic division propagated by some political leaders.
Later at Minjila in Garsen Constituency, Tana River County, he laid the foundation stone for the KSh85 million Garsen Community Sports Ground.
At Garsen market grounds, he also issued over 4,500 title deeds to beneficiaries of Galili, Bubesa A and B, and Kon-dertu settlement schemes, with others in the pipeline.
The President commended ranch owners who have signalled their readiness to sell 30,000 acres of land to the Government, paving the way for the settlement of squatters who have occupied the lands for years without valid documentation.
“Kenyans who are living in uncertainty in these lands can now rest easy because we will give them title deeds so that they are empowered like other Kenyans elsewhere,” he said.
The President said the Government is investing Ksh6 billion in housing, modern markets and student hostels across the county.
On food security, he said new investors are ready to revive the Bura Irrigation Scheme to boost the production of rice, sugar and other crops.
At Hola in Galole Constituency, he launched the Tana River Last Mile Electricity Connectivity Project.
President Ruto wound up his tour of the region by laying the foundation stone for Fayya Technical and Vocational College hostels in Bura Constituency.
Present were Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, Cabinet Secretaries Alice Wahome (Lands and Housing), Hassan Joho (Mining) and Salim Mvurya (Sports), Governors Issa Timamy (Lamu) and Dhadho Godhana (Tana River), Principal Secretaries, MPs and MCAs, among others.
