Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar has called for the immediate suspension of the Sh200 billion housing project to redevelop old county houses.
The senator claimed that the project is a scheme by the county administration who are planning to sell the public land.
Speaking on Tuesday to journalists at his county offices, Mr Omar said there were no consultations prior to the implementation of the project.
According to him, there are legal and constitutional issues that are supposed to be discussed before the project is implemented.
“Allowing the private sector to enter this space of housing may in the short term provide the county with some revenue but in the long term it has adverse effects. Such an approach to privatize or sell off public housing is a wrong public policy and a retrogressive practice that violates the constitution,” said Omar.
The senator urged the tenants who were asked to vacate the old houses not to move out until all issues concerning the matter are addressed.
“If the project is allowed to continue, other counties in the country will start selling public land purporting to provide housing to low income earners in fraudulent schemes,” said the senator.
Last week, Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho vowed to push ahead with the project which is expected to provide modern and affordable housing units to residents.
Governor Joho said the Sh200 billion project to redevelop old estates will continue as planned to resolve the housing challenges in the county.