GOTV MILLIONAIRES REVEAL HOUSING GAP

GOTV, the digital terrestrial broadcasting arm of Multichoice, carried out over the last few months a campaign in which 12 lucky subscribers walked away with Sh1million each.

The Dunga Milli campaign which was boosted by the participation of the Nation Media Group aimed to award one winner every week.

Most of the winners were average Kenyans, small business owners or employees who had bought the GOTV decoder.

What was interesting is when they were asked what they intended to do with the money most of them said they would either be acquiring a plot, fencing an existing plot or building a house.

Besides one or two of the older winners who talked of paying fees for their children, almost without fail the issue of housing seemed to preoccupy the winners' minds.

This also underscores the biggest headache for many hardworking Kenyans, the ability to own their own home.

The current housing boom in the country's urban areas reflects the margins which developers are making and to an extent how much Kenyans are being overcharged for these developments.

The mortgages and associated charges for purchasing a home are outrageous in this country.

That so many of the GOTV millionaires are seeking to house themselves with the money they won shows how big a need this is and deliberate government policy to support home ownership should be put in place.

Nairobi County should explore partnerships to put up estates like it used to in the past with the last development being Buru Buru.

This allowed young couples to own their homes and pay for them in friendly terms.