Boma Yangu is an Affordable Housing Program (AHP) by the Kenyan government as one of the “Big 4 agenda” pillars. This program came up in 2017 to offer affordable houses to Kenyan people.
According to the state department of housing and urban development, 74% of employed Kenyans earn a salary of fewer than 50,000 shillings per month. This salary is reportedly not enough to make them own a house offered at an average cost of 9 million by private companies selling houses.
In this regard, the Kenyan government developed the Boma Yangu program to ensure that more citizens can own a house through a mortgage. The program will employ cost-effective options in material and construction but provide affordable and decent houses.
Also Read: Updates on Affordable Housing Project in Nairobi City, Kenya
The government brought this policy to create 500,000 new homeowners by reducing construction costs and offering affordable mortgages to Kenyans.
According to the program, the cost of a unit of the house will range from 800 000 shillings for a bedsitter to 3 million shillings for a three-bedroom house. This program is different from others in that the government uses private-sector funding to facilitate the provision of affordable homes for Kenyans.
How to register and pay for Boma Yangu
Kenyans who want to purchase affordable houses must register on the Boma Yangu portal (www.bomayangu.go.ke) through their phones or visit the nearest Huduma centers for the service. During the registration, one must provide personal details such as their full name, date of birth, national identification card number, county of residence, and phone number. The program has more than 300,000 registered members.
After registration, one can make payments by clicking the “Make Contribution” button in the portal. This will allow them to make payments through the Mpesa pay bill number 005500. People can also make payments by depositing money in authorized collection banks.
Contributions can be made in three schemes, voluntary Contributor, where the monthly contributions are not capped; Joint Contributor, for married or joint contributions towards home ownership; and Statutory Contributor, which is a mandatory contribution capped at 2,500 shillings.
