Raila Odinga offers President Ruto new proposal to unlock Housing Levy impasse
Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga (centre) with PNU leader Peter Munya and other officials during the party’s 15th anniversary celebrations on January 31, 2024 in Nairobi.
What you need to know:
- Mr Odinga said deducting workers’ pay is misguided as it does not take into account how the funds will be spent.
- ODM leader also claimed that the current affordable housing projects lack a clear plan on how it will be integrated with other social amenities.
Azimio la Umoja One Kenya leader Raila Odinga has proposed a national dialogue as a way out of the Housing Levy impasse.
Mr Odinga is pushing for a national engagement, which he says will bring in experts from around the world to provide a clear roadmap on how to implement the affordable housing project and finance it.
While acknowledging that affordable housing was included in the Azimio manifesto, Mr Odinga said the coalition disagrees with the way the government plans to implement the programme, particularly the means of raising funds and the criteria for constructing the houses.
According to the opposition leader, the government’s decision to raise funds for the construction of the houses by deducting workers’ pay is misguided as it does not take into account how the funds will be spent.
He added that it is being pushed on individuals who are already servicing mortgages and those who do not want houses, which goes against the spirit of the Constitution.
“You cannot come and tell people that upende usipende utalipa nyumba (whether like it or not, you will pay for the houses). That is an old language that died with the old constitution. We need a national dialogue where people sit down and understand how this programme is going to be implemented," Mr Odinga said.
"You can call a conference in the Bomas of Kenya and call it the ‘Kenya we want’. And people will sit down and have a dialogue to agree on what needs to be done. Let us set up a think tank of experts from Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Kenya who will meet every three months to come up with ideas on how to implement the programme,” he added.
The ODM leader also claimed that the current affordable housing projects being pushed by President Ruto lack a clear plan on how it will be integrated with other social amenities.
“It is not a standard thing that you come up and say these people are being paid too much and you need to deduct from them to build houses. You are solving basic problems: the problem of shelter and housing, the problem of work, the problem of education, and the problem of health. You have to think about all that. Where are they going to work, where are they going to go to school?” he asked.
Mr Odinga described South Korea as the best example of implementing affordable housing and urged the President to tap their expertise.
He was speaking during the launch of the Party of National Unity (PNU) recruitment exercise in Nairobi. During the event, other Azimio principals took a swipe at the Kenya Kwanza administration, suggesting that its promise to turn around the economy had failed.
“Kenyans are clearly tired and they have lost faith in this government because of over-taxation. For the past year and a half, they have done nothing and have nothing to show for it,” said PNU party leader Peter Munya.
The leaders also called for opposition unity ahead of the 2027 elections.
Mr Odinga’s suggestion comes amid mounting pressure on the Ruto administration to seek alternative means of financing the affordable housing project.
On Friday last week, the Court of Appeal ruled that the national government should suspend the 1.5 per cent deduction from salaried workers until the matter is resolved.
A public participation exercise on the Affordable Housing Bill 2023 conducted by Parliament ended yesterday with increased calls for the Kenya Kwanza administration to look for alternative ways of financing the programme.
