Matiang’i: State will partner with Saccos in housing plan
The government plans to partner with Savings and Credit Societies (Saccos) to fund the affordable housing programme under the Big Four agenda.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i yesterday said the arrangement, that will be explored under the Public-Private-Partnerships, will target the rich deposits held by Saccos and the abundance of land held by the government and public institutions.
Speaking during the Kenya National Police Sacco’s annual delegates meeting at a Nairobi hotel, the CS also said the police training curriculum will be reviewed to incorporate lessons in personal finance management.
Matiang’i said the government hoped to use the deposits that will be supplemented by the National Treasury to fund houses for police officers under tenant-purchase agreements.
“You have the money. Why should we go to borrow elsewhere? And why should we go to look for partners from other places when all we are looking for is probably about Sh20 billion to do a huge housing project?” Matiang’i posed.
The CS said the government and Saccos should make use of the resources to improve the welfare and the lives of police officers, adding that such projects would also help protect land owned by the police and other institutions from grabbers while helping improve the welfare of Sacco members.
To align the police training to the realities of life, the CS revealed that the curriculum will be reviewed to incorporate lessons in personal finance management.
“Almost half of the challenges we are facing with our police officers are related to financial distress. There will never be enough money for someone who does not know how to manage the resources within his/her means,” he said.
He added that there was an urgent need to start inculcating financial management as a critical component of the training for police officers immediately after recruitment.
The Kenya National Police Sacco has a membership of 63,009 and an asset base of Sh44 billion. It draws members from the National Police Service, National Intelligence Service and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission among other agencies.
