Kanu political affairs secretary Fred Okang’o has said that affordable housing is essential but the approach used by the government is wrong.
In an interview on Monday at Citizen TV, Okang’o said their concern as Azimio Coalition is how the government got to 3 per cent and why the levy is mandatory.
He said Kenyans have no idea who the beneficiaries of the housing levy will be and if there is a guarantee that the contributor will get a house.
"Affordable housing program is a must have as it is one of the social economic rights in our constitution but how did President William Ruto arrive at 3 per cent and why is it mandatory?" Okang’o asked.
He said many leaders try to deliver their manifesto when they get into power and that is why Azimio also had the housing program in their manifesto.
Okangó however noted that in Azimio they had an elaborate idea of how to do the housing scheme.
"Any serious government must have a housing program as part of their commitment when they get to power. Anyone who campaigns has to propose housing. In the Azimio manifesto, we had an elaborate idea on how to do the housing scheme," he said.
He said majority of Kenyans want to be informed more on the housing scheme but the government is not doing that hence making it more of a fantasy than a scheme.
The Kanu political affairs secretary said the 3 per cent deduction will affect people’s disposable income hence the tax shouldn’t be compulsory.
He however noted that Azimio had not settled on what the maximum contribution towards the housing levy would be.
"We had not arrived at the maximum contribution because that was going to be in the regulatory framework," he said.
Okang’o added that the principle bit of it was that it was gonna be lower than what the Kenya Kwanza government is proposing.
