- Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium Joash Maangi has backed the proposed Vision 2060 development framework.
- He says education, housing, industrialisation and food security should form part of Kenya’s long-term development priorities.
- Maangi has particularly urged teachers to consider affordable housing opportunities as a way of building assets while still in employment.
Former Kisii County Deputy Governor Joash Maangi, who is now Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium, has lauded the proposed Vision 2060, saying it factors in education and industrial development as key priorities, and asked critics to shelve their misgivings.
“This is a master vision that engulfs the first one, Vision 2030, in a superb way,” he said.
The Ambassador, who was speaking to Education News during a short visit to his Kisii rural home, said Vision 2060 is more comprehensive and people-centred compared to its predecessor because it directly links human capital development with industrialisation, affordable housing and food security.
He appealed to teachers to take advantage of the affordable housing programme, especially units built within their localities, saying the programme embodies more economic and social prosperity than people currently perceive.
Maangi said the housing programme is a strategy that could help decongest major cities like Nairobi, support the growth of smaller urban centres and create employment.
He explained that the model could work by establishing new affordable housing estates in market centres and small towns such as Suneka, Marani, Keumbu, Ogembo, Nyamira and Keroka, instead of concentrating development in Kisii Town.
According to Maangi, teachers, health workers and other civil servants could take advantage of affordable mortgage plans to own the houses, enabling them to live close to their workplaces.
He said the construction phase itself could become an economic driver, benefiting local contractors, masons, plumbers, electricians, welders and suppliers of cement, sand, ballast and steel.
Once occupied, he added, the estates could create employment for security guards, estate managers, cleaners, garbage collectors and maintenance technicians. Small business owners could also benefit as shops, salons, barber shops, vegetable kiosks and boda boda stages emerge around the estates, helping the centres grow into small urban hubs.
Maangi links housing to land use and food production
On food security, Maangi argued that moving some homesteads currently scattered across agricultural land into well-planned estates could free more land for farming.
This, he said, could increase food production in Kisii and Nyamira counties, where land fragmentation remains a challenge.
He further argued that organised estates with street lighting, perimeter fencing and community policing could improve security compared to isolated rural homes.
The concentration of settlements, he added, could make it easier for the Government to provide water, electricity, internet and sewerage services.
Maangi urged teachers to join SACCOs and explore opportunities to apply for houses collectively, saying it could make it easier for them to own homes while still in service rather than waiting until retirement.
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He asked Kenyans to participate in and support the development of Vision 2060 and the affordable housing agenda, saying long-term planning in education, housing, industrialisation and food security could help transform Kenya’s economy.
By Enock Okong’o
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Kenya’s Ambassador to Belgium Joash Maangi during a recent engagement. The former Kisii Deputy Governor has urged teachers to explore affordable housing opportunities as the country develops its long-term Vision 2060 framework.
