Thirdway Alliance Party leader Ekuru Aukot on Tuesday said that the stickiest question the government has failed to elucidate on is the criteria it plans to use to tax Kenyans and also utilise the collected monies.
Speaking on Citizen TV, Aukot faulted Ruto’s government for disenchanting Kenyans living below the poverty line yet the government rode into office with the promise of uplifting them.
“The presidency of William Ruto is what Kenyans can now agree was a long con. It was promising Kenyans heaven and earth that we will do this for mama mboga but now the law that has been passed in Parliament is punishing that person,” he said.
Aukot further found fault in the housing programme which he says has never clarified how the constructed homes will be distributed, arguing that they will still be a preserve of the financially able yet the poor have been forced to contribute.
“We don’t even know the formula of distribution of those houses. That is the context I think the leaders didn’t take into account when they were passing this law,” he said.
“What happens to somebody in my village in Kapedo even other villages in this country?”
Court earlier ruled that the housing levy collection was unconstitutional, sending MPs back to the drawing board. Both the Senate and the National Assembly passed the bill last week, with amendments introduced in the bill including bringing county governments to the fold.
President Ruto is expected to assent to the Housing Bill to pave the way for the return of the deductions.
The Bill seeks to have all Kenyans, both salaried and non-salaried, pay 1.5% of their monthly pay to the Affordable Housing Fund.
The levy has been the subject of a stiff contention between the government, the courts, and citizens as many have questioned its legal framework.
A three-judge bench in 2023 barred the collection of the levy on grounds that it was discriminatory and a direct violation of Article 10 of the constitution of Kenya.
