The Principal Secretary in the State Department of Housing and Urban Development, Charles Hinga, has pushed back against recent asserts that have withdrawn Ksh2. 56 billion from the Boma Yangu Affordable Housing Savings platform. While addressing the press on July 22 following rising concerns on the issue, PS Hinga argues that the figures being floated both in media reports and social media are false and do not tell the whole story of what is actually happening with the housing programme.
He reiterated that a massive chunk of what is being dubbed as'withdrawals'is not at all money leaving the system. According to him, over two-thirds of that amount was actually channelled towards deposits for new homeowners buying units outside the Park Road project. This represents roughly 31.
4 per cent of the Ksh2. 56 billion, money that he states genuinely pulled out for personal use. “Then we have Ksh803 million, which is 31.
4 per cent, which is money that now has actually been withdrawn; even in your home you withdraw money from important savings accounts when you need to,”PS Hinga stated. He noted that some savers withdraw for realistic reasons like paying fees, while others panic after hearing politicians threaten to scrap the housing levy altogether once they come into power, a threat that the opposition politicians in general have been making. “As I said, you can withdraw school fees when they are due.
And people also withdraw when they get spooked. When they hear politicians say that they will kill the housing project when we come in, people panic, and they withdraw the money because they don't want to lose their money,”PS Hinga stated. The Daily Nation coverage of July 19 had reported that refunds from Boma Yangu had surged to Ksh2.
56 billion. That figure represented nearly half of the Ksh5. 47 billion mobilised through the voluntary savings scheme so far.
The publication noted the steep rise from just Ksh788 million recorded back in May 2025, blaming public perception and tough economic times for the spike. Despite the pullout, the report acknowledged that net savings on the platform had still grown to Ksh3 billion thanks to fresh contributions coming in. It also pointed out that the Auditor General had flagged concerns around affordability and public perception, noting that only about 30 per cent of the 1.
26 million registered users are actively saving. In retrospect, PS Hinga maintained that the whole scheme often relies on the Auditor General's data, and nothing that touches on the money of the department does without consulting the Auditor General. “So we felt that this article, while it relied on data, relied on data from the Auditor General, and by the way, we called the Auditor General ourselves.
I wrote to the Auditor-General, and we questioned the Auditor-General to come and audit us outside the statutory audit," PS Hinga stated. In light of this, he stressed that when the full picture is considered, savings still outweigh withdrawals, insisting the housing programme remains firmly on track despite the criticism.