Central police officers in dilemma over housing shortage
A police officers looks through the remnants of his property following a fire at Central Police Station on February 23, 2018. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Police officers in the Central region are staring at a housing crisis due to a shortage of rental residential houses.
Most of the officers, who have been instructed to vacate police houses this week in line with the new housing structure of National Police Service (NPS), have nowhere to go because of an acute shortage of rental houses.
Their situation has been made worse after the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) slashed their allowances almost by half.
Following a review of their allowances, a sergeant in Nairobi will get Sh9,800 in house allowance and Sh4,000 in commuter allowance. Sergeants in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyeri, Eldoret, Kisii, Kitale, Kakamega and Malindi will get Sh7,300 in house allowance. Those in other regions will get Sh5,500.
Most of the officers said they will remain in the deplorable police houses largely due to lack of alternative affordable shelter. This means they face going without basic amenities because their employer will stop paying for water and electricity at the police houses.
So bad is the situation in some areas that investors have warned of a serious crisis. The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) has called on investors and the government to address the housing crisis.
