I agree. Yes but only if gov, insurance, pensions and big fund managers can go back to housing - will the farmer do something else.
The problem is we have left our housing to be informal. It like Matatu sector. It's free for all mess.
Way forward is for gov, insurance, pension and such funds to go in - build huge real estate and bridge the deficit.
Once that it's done - the Kiambu farmer will not go to Nairobi to fill the housing deficit - but will find out other investment - like small light manufacturing - or agro-processing. It will not make sense to compete with pension funds who can build 100k housing units and rent it out cheaply.
But as of now - we have immediate housing need of 2m units - and we have so many slums.
There are two sectors that we have allowed informality to be the norm - housing and transport.
At least for agriculture - there is a lot of cooperative movements - that formalize and organize small holders.
At least for Retaila and Wholesaling - we are seeing Supermarkets and malls - formalizing it.
But for transport - gov has to go in BIG TIME - like SGR is doing - go in BIG time with trams, light rails, buses - and kick out Matatus. The economies of scale will allow gov to operate buses on time, cheaply and safely.
When informality is killed - formality will thrive - and development will follow. People will have more formal jobs - rather than an informal loss-making inefficient business.
How is this infrasturucture reducing poverty for the 16 million poor. We know that most of the investments in Kenya are tied in economics ya mawe thus denying much needed capital to other sectors. You find a farmer investing their life savings in a building in Nairobi because there is no incentive from the government or the market to invest more in farming and increase productivity. I think what economists have been saying is that Kenya needs to invest more in increasing agricultural produdictivy to help lift most of families in rural areas out of poverty. A shiny building and road rarely translates to what reduction of poverty