President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed that the housing levy be made voluntary.
The move is an about-turn by the government which had earlier called for the full implementation of the levy which would see the deduction of the 1.5 per cent Housing Development Levy on workers.
Speaking during the 56th Jamhuri Day celebrations at the Nyayo National Stadium on Thursday, Uhuru directed the National Treasury and the Housing Ministry move to Parliament, a revision to the legal requirement in respect to the Housing Fund Levy, to make the contribution voluntary, with immediate effect.
"You all know, the implementation of the Housing Fund Levy as a mandatory contribution, for both employees and employers, has at every turn, been fraught with an avalanche of legal hurdles and obstacles. But we need to soldier the nobility of this programme."
Uhuru said that the government has started the journey to fulfill their pledge to Kenyans on the Affordable Housing Programme.
"Just last week, I commissioned the first phase of the project by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) that will deliver 100,000 units across the country," Uhuru said.
The President said the Affordable Housing Programme will continue to deepen and accelerate access to housing far beyond the country's immediate target date of 2022 of building 500,000 housing units.
"The creation of the Housing Fund was informed by the need to bridge the gap between the have and the have nots, by creating a framework through which, the traditionally unbanked can access financing towards home-ownership," he added.
