Any state officer found caught misappropriating public funds allocated to the Affordable Housing Project will be fined KSh20 million, Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga has said.

Speaking in an interview with Citizen TV, PS Hinga said the newly-assented to Affordable Housing Act provides harsh punishment for corrupt government officials, that also include a 10-year jail sentence.

“The (Affordable Housing) Act imposes serious penalties on anyone who is going to misappropriate the money. It is KSh20 million fine or 10 years in jail or both. In the past, the issue was that the penalty was not punitive enough to deter (corruption),” PS Hinga said on Wednesday, March 20.

During the interview, PS Hinga also revealed that President William Ruto had appointed Dr Linda Nkatha to chair a board that will be tasked with overseeing the housing funds.

The board, Hinga said, will include representatives from the Federation of Kenya Employers (FKE), the Council of Governors (CoG), and the Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU).

“There is a board that is going to be superintending over these funds, and it has a very wide representation. A workers representative from COTU sits on the board, representation from the employers that is FKE sits on the board, the counties representation which is the CoG sits on the board, and then we have three independent directors and a Chairperson who is also independent.”

The Affordable Housing Act establishes a framework for the collection of the housing levy and implementation of the affordable housing programme.

All salaried Kenyans will be remitting 1.5% of their monthly salaries to the fund.

While signing the bill into law on March 19, 2024, President Ruto said implementation of the Affordable Housing Programme will transform the lives of Kenyans at the bottom of the pyramid by creating jobs, providing decent housing and reducing agricultural land fragmentation.

He commended the National Assembly and Senate for working round the clock to pass the Bill.

“I want to appreciate Parliament and Kenyans for their input in the Bill that I have just signed into law,” said President Ruto.

He pointed out that the housing programme will ensure families across the country live in a dignified manner.